EPISODE 66: DUNGEON HEART

Corwin staggered back, fingers numb but still gripping the sweat-soaked leather of his sword hilt. He barely blocked the last strike from the Scarred One, and the force of the blow made the steel ring in his hands. The pale green glow on his blade was long gone, but the faint purple sheen on the massive creature's spear was still visible.

Either it can renew its blessing, or its gods like it better than mine do me. Corwin thought, trying to ignore the mixture of sweat and blood trickling down his forehead. A late parry had let the Scarred One land a glancing blow against Corwin's scalp, not deep but enough to let the blood flow into his eye. In the haze of Rage he hadn't noticed the sting, but now that it was fading, the irritation became blinding.

He did not know how long he had been fighting the giant Nightscale. It could be minutes, or hours. It felt the same to Corwin. As the Rage burned itself away, he felt exhausted, sluggish. A dangerous combination when your opponent still stood.

The Scarred One had several deep wounds. Most had the tiny white grubs working feverishly to close them, but a few still had thick, gray blood flowing out of them. It moved slower as well, taking longer to make attacks, massive chest heaving like a blacksmith's bellows. But its strikes had lost none of their power. Corwin had gouges in his breastplate, as well as bloody cuts on his shoulders and one on his thigh that caused him to limp slightly with each step.

Sounds of fighting behind him had faded. Corwin hoped that was because Sera and Charity had fought their way through the line of Scalebacks and not because they had both fallen. A quick check with Detect Mana let him know they were still alive, even if their Cores were running dangerously low.

They'll either break through, or be forced back. Corwin thought, wearily. Doesn't make much of a difference right now. At this moment, I just have to survive.

Just then, the Scarred One renewed its assault. It darted towards Corwin, spear flashing. Fatigue meant the creature was merely fast, rather than devilishly fast. Corwin knocked the first lunge aside, feeling the sting in his hands from the impact of the strike. He gritted his teeth and pushed the spear point away. Corwin swept his sword back in an arc, the tip of the blade grazing the Scarred One's chest. The creature did not even react, and Corwin's slash only left a light gray mark on its scales.

Corwin grunted in frustration, pushing mana into Savage Strike and bringing his sword down hard in an overhand attack before the Scarred One could recover. The blade bit into its shoulder, releasing a trickle of viscous gray blood.

The Scarred One hissed in pain and annoyance, releasing its spear with one hand and backhanding Corwin across the jaw. Corwin staggered back from the force of the blow. He struggled to get his bearings as the world spun around him. Sounds came from a great distance and a blinding light behind his eyes made the world seem hazy and washed-out.

"Corwin, look out!" A voice screamed from somewhere nearby and from a great distance at the same time.

Instinctively, Corwin took a long, staggering step to one side. A spear point struck the rock floor where he had been standing a heartbeat before. He had gotten too close to the line of Scalebacks watching their leader battle the invaders. One of the smaller Scalebacks decided to 'help' by crippling Corwin.

The small Scaleback hissed in annoyance and glared at Corwin while stepping back into a ready crouch.

A roar from the Scarred One caught Corwin's attention. He turned just in time to see the hulking lizard-man throw its spear. Corwin's first instinct was to dodge, but he saw immediately that the spear would not hit him. The small Scaleback looked surprised when the huge spear took it in the chest. It went flying backwards, the force of the spear sending it sliding across the stone tiles.

Realizing that his opponent had just thrown away its weapon in a fit of pique, Corwin dug into his remaining mana and charged. The Scarred One looked irritated that Corwin blocked its way to retrieve its spear, but that irritation soon turned to concern. Corwin let loose a flurry of blows, but rather than looking for new targets, he aimed for the wounds that he'd already made. Feinting to the left, Corwin struck home with a thrust into the Scarred One's shoulder and the deep wound he had made with his blessed blade. The pale grubs squirmed as his sword sliced and crushed them, spilling brownish sludge and a new flow of thick gray blood from the wound.

The Scarred One roared, the sound shaking the stone pillars and sending down a hail of dust. It lashed out with its claws. Corwin was already retreating, choosing his next target, a shallow gash above its knee. Corwin summoned Savage Strike and swung with all his might at the opening in the Scarred One's hide. The sword bit deep and Corwin felt it scrape against bone as he twisted it and withdrew again.

Letting loose another roar, the Scarred One wobbled and then crashed down to one knee. Corwin felt a surge of elation. He switched tactics, dropping Savage Strike for the more expensive and difficult Precise Strike. The telltale wave of fatigue swept over him. He was getting perilously close to Mana Burn.

Have to risk it. Corwin thought, his mind a fog of exhaustion, pain, and the strange elation of battle. I won't get another chance like this.

Corwin almost missed the savage claw attack that the Scarred One unleashed, hoping to keep him at a distance. It was trying to get its injured leg back underneath it, but the damage was just too much. The leg hung limp, muscles bunched oddly, and a darker shade of gray blood running down its thigh. Corwin blocked the Scarred One's slash and lunged, unleashing his Talent and pouring all his remaining strength and determination into this one last strike.

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The sword struck home, piercing the Scarred One's undamaged eye, and sliding in up to the hilt. Gore-coated steel erupted from the back of the creature's head and it let out a pitiful screech of surprise.

For a moment, everything was still.

Corwin stood, sword buried in the Scarred One's head, chest heaving and holding himself upright by sheer force of will. The Scarred One's chest moved shallowly for a few breaths, then went still. It made a feeble swipe at Corwin, but there was no strength behind the blow. The immense creature toppled to one side, Corwin's sword still lodged firmly inside its head, landing with a heavy thud on the tiles.

A ringing sound, like fingers on the rim of a wineglass, started faintly somewhere nearby. At first, Corwin was too exhausted to notice, but then the ringing intensified, joined by the hisses of the Scalebacks and Nightscales. Corwin looked up at the ring of monsters that surrounded him and the other Wayfarers. The Nightscales clutched their heads in pain, claws digging deep furrows into their hides as they tried to dig out whatever was hurting them from inside their heads. The smaller Scalebacks had toppled to the ground, bodies convulsing and gray-black foam leaking from their mouths.

"What the hell…" Corwin murmured. He looked up at Galia. Her shield had fallen, and she was staring at Zakarias.

Rivulets of blood ran down the sorcerer's face, followed by the same pale grubs. They landed on the stone tiles with an audible plap…plap… The grubs were obviously dead. The ringing grew louder, several of the Scalebacks shrieked and then went still, yellow eyes staring off into nothingness.

"Corwin…" Galia said, sounding as exhausted as he felt. She pointed to the ring of stones around them.

Glancing back at the heartstones, Corwin's stomach dropped. The purple-white glow within the crystals rolled and surged at a frenetic pace. Dark violet crystals grew suddenly in the gaps between each of the heartstones. Reaching out to one another.

Gods, no! Corwin thought, yanking his sword free and charging the nearest heartstone. He swung at the thing with all his might, only to feel it rebound without doing damage, sending him sprawling on his back.

"It's too late!" Sera cried over the keening and hissing of the Scalebacks. Gore covered Sera and Charity, and both women had new wounds. "The cascade has already started. We need to get the rest of the captives free!"

Crystals grew out of the ring of heartstones towards the few remaining Wayfarers that had yet to awaken. Corwin rushed to the nearest slumbering, shrouded figure. He lifted them away from the spreading crystalline structure and carried them to the knot of Wayfarers.

Charity did the same. But even working as fast as they were, some captives were already being consumed by the growing Dungeon Heart. Sera pulled one captive away from a ring of crystals that grew exponentially around their body. Corwin heard a tearing sound, followed by a scream. He glanced over, seeing the shroud tearing apart as Sera pulled. The body within was completely unrecognizable. Purple and black crystals erupted from the remaining flesh underneath the shroud. Sera went pale as a sheet, dropping the shroud and backing away in horror.

No time to help her. Corwin thought. Got to save what we can.

Corwin tried to suppress the rising panic he felt as he tore back shroud after shroud and did not find Jabez. He found more bodies consumed by the cascading Dungeon Heart and left them behind.

What if Jabez is one we couldn't identify? Corwin thought, his mind spinning with fear. He almost tripped over a shrouded form on the edge of the ring. The size was right, and a flare of hope rose in Corwin's heart.

He tore back the shroud. Within was Jabez's familiar, weathered face. The dwarf twitched in his unconscious state. Corwin looked down and saw crystals beginning to burrow into Jabez's unprotected arms. Grabbing the dwarf around his midsection, Corwin hefted him up onto his shoulder.

Crystals shattered, and Jabez let out a grunt of discomfort, leaving a few drops of blood behind, but that was as far as it went. Corwin ran back to the cluster of Wayfarers.

Edda and Clea were awakening the captives that needed it, while the remaining Wayfarers looked around their surroundings with dread.

Vash still lay unconscious on the tiled floor. Galia kneeled next to him, looking confused and frustrated.

Corwin put Jabez down next to Edda. The elder halfling cleric turned immediately, whispering a prayer to Rasander while checking Jabez over with a critical eye. "Can you help him?"

Edda gave Corwin an annoyed glance. "I'm going to try my best. Whatever those Scalebacks gave us to keep us unconscious also blocked access to our Cores. We clerics have a bit of leeway since it's hard to cut someone off from a god, but they can make it really damn difficult."

Pale gold light shone under Edda's hands, flickering weakly. She grimaced and started her prayer again, brows knitting together in concentration.

"What about Vash?" Corwin asked, turning to Galia.

The young mage looked exhausted. Corwin immediately felt guilty about demanding anything from her, but his need to know outweighed his conscience. Galia looked at

Corwin and shook her head wearily. "This sorcerer hit him with a Thought Cage. Bound Vash's spirit to his own in a pocket dimension. It's like he pulled Vash into a dream, a place where he can use his will as a weapon."

Corwin looked over at Zakarias. The sorcerer still kneeled across from Vash, his eyes unfocused and his body swaying slightly. Blood from his nose soaked his goatee and a small pile of pale, dead grubs lay before his knees.

"Well, let's end the dream then." Corwin said, drawing his sword and preparing to run Zakarias through.

"No! Wait!" Galia cried, and Corwin hesitated. "If you kill the sorcerer while Vash is still in there, then we may lose his soul. I'm trying to pull Vash's soul back into his body, but it's difficult. Something is pulling against me, trying to keep him in there."

Corwin lowered his sword and looked away. At the far end of the plaza, the nine heartstones had grown, sending tendrils of crystals and dark stone out to meet together in the center of the circle. A huge, purple crystal formed where the nine came together. It glowed and pulsed, slowly at first, then began a rhythm.

Thud…Thud…THUD-thud…THUD-thud…

The Dungeon Heart began to beat. With each beat, it reached out more and more tendrils. It buried itself into the rock and reshaped it into crude walls, rising inch by inch out of the floor. Crystals surrounded the dead and dying Scalebacks, absorbing their flesh and sending eerie blue and purple lights through the crystalline 'veins' back to the Dungeon Heart.

A groan from Jabez drew Corwin's attention. The old dwarf sat up slowly, one hand on his head, eyes still firmly squeezed shut. "Tell me that throbbing is from a hangover, and isn't a gods-damned Dungeon Heart."

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