Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

 Liam saw the shrouded body of the Harbinger of Ruin slip inside the back door of the church so low on the horizon. Instincts pricked - this was not an ordinary building. The edifice fairly oozed with eerie stillness. It was so that as Liam put the first step forward to follow, a gentle but firm voice shattered the stillness.

"Have you come to pray, my child? "
Abruptly turning, Liam noted the severe figure of an aged priest. His robes sagged on a thin body, but eyes bore a sharp knowing in them.
"Ah, no," Liam said quickly, trying to cover the sense of urgency. "Just... just taking a walk to clear my head. "
The priest narrowed his gaze but spoke no further. Liam quickly turned again and strolled away, hands tightening into fists. There was nothing to do but wait it out. Midnight would be the time.
Midnight had fallen, and this village, empty as the dark skies above, was punctuated only by the occasionally rustling wind and soft distant steps. Crouching behind a shadow across from the church, Liam watched. Several guards in armor paced around the place, each holding a torch, which cast flickers all over the ground.
"They're expecting something," Liam muttered under his breath. "How do we get in without raising hell?"
Before he could even figure a plan, Nyx' small silver-furred body jumped from his shoulder to where the guards guarded the entrance.
"Nyx! What are you- " Liam hissed.
Abruptly, an air ripple formed. From Nyx's crouched position, illusions spread outwards, transforming into vague distorted figures whispering words yet to be understood. The guards stood frozen, gazing in confusion as the shadows began to twist and contort around them, morphing into images of phantom shapes calling out to them. And one by one, they staggered back in fear, abandoning their posts and fleeing into the night.
Liam stood agape. "You... you can do that?"
Nyx returned to Liam's side, smirked in smugness, his tiny wings fluttered in satisfaction.
"I'm beginning to think there's no end to your tricks," Liam muttered. He put a hand on Nyx's head and ruffled his fur. "Well done, partner."

Liam slipped into the church unnoticed, with the guards nowhere to be found.
The insides were profoundly little colder, heavy air infused with the faint unmistakable scent of dark magic. The faint glimmer of candlelight flickered against the stone walls, causing shadows to dance ominously at the very tips of Liam's peripheral vision.
"Where's the source..." Liam whispered, moving his eyes sideways, inspecting the massive interior.
Suddenly Nyx ran ahead, nose twitching while following a scent that Liam couldn't smell. They finally stopped before an enormous intricately carved statue of Jesus at the end of the church. Nyx scratched at the base, then emitted a small guttural growl.
"The basement," Liam said, narrowing his eyes. "It's hidden here."
With a shove, the statue groaned as it slid aside to reveal a spiraling stone staircase that descended into darkness. An unnatural cold draft rose up from below, bringing with it the unmistakable stench of despair.
The basement was a mazy, twisted chamber of misery where dim flickering lanterns partially lit the area, not revealing rows of cages which were filled up with trembling villagers. Women, children, and elderly gentlemen stared out hollow, terrified eyes.
"What the hell is this place..." Liam whispered, and his heart clenched with wrath.
But it was the farthest room at the end from here that most drew him. The entryway is pulsing with deep, throbbing purple light that illuminates the cracks in the stone floor. Liam crept forward, peering inside.
The sight turned his blood cold.
Five Harbingers of Ruin identical in their crimson robes stand in a ring surrounding a huge dark magic sigil. At the center of that sigil within several ones are trapped, helplessly paralyzed, while the harbingers start to chant.
"Where's the sixth one?" one of them shouted impatiently, the sound bouncing around. "He ought to be around. This is the peak of our work!"Liam froze. If he was really expecting the sixth harbinger, like he was now, then he had an advantage.
Instinctively, his hand was on the bag where he stored the robe of the harbinger he'd defeated earlier that week. In minutes, Liam slipped into the red garment and stepped into the room.
The harbingers turned as one. "Finally," one sneered. "Where have you been?"
Liam lowered his head to the hood, concealing his face. "What matters is that I am here now. Focus on the ceremony."
The rest muttered agreement and turned back to the sigil.
Liam gritted his teeth; it was thundering as that chant had started, intensifying with the weight of dark magic-storm building ever so tantalizingly in the room. The sigil burned brighter, and an otherworldly hum suffused the atmosphere.
It's starting.
Liam gripped the hilt of his sword beneath the robe. "Nyx," he whispered faintly, "get ready."
Nyx crouched down by his foot, muscles coiled.
At that moment, when the harbingers relaxed their guard in their rituals, Liam did hit out. He ripped away the robe and lunged at the first harbinger, sword slicing clean through before the victim could even realize anything was happening. Nyx sent out a pulse of magic, blinding the harbingers in the first few seconds.
Chaos ensued.
They screamed and scrambled to protect themselves against Liam's fury. He pushed his way through the dark ranks while Nyx's illusions confused and shattered their movements. One by one, they were struck down, their crimson robes collapsing into heaps of ash as the dark sigil cracked and began to dissolve.
The last harbinger screamed as the blade of Liam pierced into his chest. He crumpled onto the floor, with purple glow waning to nothing.
The disappearance of the sigil freed the villagers from the cages and dropped them upon the ground in liberation and tears. Liam helped them up their feet, out of the basement, to the safety of the moonlit night.
And as always, so the dawn broke into the kingdom, but here in the distance was the familiar hum of a portal. Liam turned about to see the swirling gate of light, which was in wait for him.
"It is over," he murmured, using the heavy tone of the perhaps what could have happened. The Harbingers of Ruin had been preparing something monster-like to summon-and he had disrupted it right at that moment.
Nyx made a small but approving chirp as she rubbed against Liam's leg.
Liam smiled softly, looking back at the church one last time. I will not allow ruin to befall any kingdom, he thought.
With a final breath, he and Nyx stepped through the portal, ready for whatever awaited them next.
To be continued...