Enmity of Atlas

“So that’s the temple?” Trenton asked, eyeing the magnificent structure.

Over the last couple hours, they had been sleuthing around the city, sneaking past guards to get to the temple without drawing attention. Now they laid atop one of the taller buildings in the northern section, scoping out the temple before them, its mighty walls luckily shorter than the vantage point they had. They could easily see past the main gate and into an expansive courtyard, covering the landscape with beautifully kept foliage. In fact, the more Trenton looked at it, the more it looked like a palace. It certainly didn’t have the shape of a temple, and it was questionable how much worship they were actually doing.

Even from the distance they were at, Trenton could hear the sounds of partying coming from inside, the little figures off in the distance dancing around and drinking merely, blasting loud music without any regard for the homes nearby. There were even lights and streamers thrown around to make the place look a little more lively. Whatever was going on, the timing couldn’t have been better. The guards were probably already intoxicated, spirits flowing freely in any kind of celebration.

“That’s what they call it. Supposedly, the emperor in salamander culture is heralded as something of a god, the descendant of some great dragon or something,” Yusadel said, panning down to a sudden shine in front of the main gate with the spyglass. It was a little blip, no more than a held lantern slowly making its way towards the palace.. Trenton could feel the vibrations through the earth of what felt like a group of people walking, but it was hard to get an exact count from that distance.

“What is it?” Garrote asked.

“Dunno, looks like a group of guards are taking some kid in, but it’s hard to tell. The kid’s wearing a lot of clothes,” Yusadel said.

Kiva looked over at Trenton, her face going pale, “Kid in a lot of clothes?”

Trenton grabbed the spyglass from Yusadel, focusing on the little point of light, “It’s Karfice.”

“Who?” Garrote asked.

“We met him in a cooling house by the river. He was the one who initially pointed us to the temple,” Kiva filled in, her eyes shut tight. “Is he hurt?”

“He looks fine. His stride’s normal and his clothes aren't torn at all. Looks like he was smart enough not to resist,” Trenton replied, handing the spyglass to Leo.

Even an experienced fighter wouldn’t stand a chance against an entire army of well trained soldiers, much less a random child. They had only managed to hold out as well as they did back in Wyrm’s perch because the soldiers were trickling into the clearing in handfuls, their forces spread across the city. And even then, they would’ve lost if Yuleye hadn't stepped in at the last minute. Realistically, even though they were all measurably much stronger than they were back at Wyrm’s perch, what they were about to do was still a daunting task. It was looking more and more like a suicide mission by the second, the hundreds of soldiers lining the court yard markedly intimidating. It turns out Trenton had made a good judgment call earlier. Leo would’ve had no chance keeping himself composed in a battle this big. Even now as he lay next to Trenton, he was quivering, the light long since having left his eyes.

“We’ll just be gone a minute,” Trenton whispered to Leo, patting him on the back. Trenton looked over at Garrote, “Are you ready?”

“Am I ready?” Garrote said, shifting to face Trenton, a broad smile cracking his gloomy expression. “Course I am! Never gotten to see the inside of a salamander temple before. I wonder what’s it like,” Garrote said, wonder sparking in his eyes.

“Good to hear. Both of you, follow me. We’ll follow behind the convoy quietly, and I’ll burst in when the time's right. Just follow my lead,” Yusadel said, Trenton and Garrote nodding.

Slowly, Garrote lowered the three of them to the ground, setting them down softly so as to avoid any excess noise. Taking cover within the nights long shadows, they trailed a ways behind the group of lizards and Karfice, the sound of their footsteps dulled by the guards blabbering amongst themselves. It was obvious they were wasted, their steps uneven, their voices slurred. They were probably just the unlucky lot sent out to do business while everyone else got to party, so it was pretty easy to remain undetected.

“So, where were we supposed to put him again?” One salamander said.

“Who cares? We’ll just throw him in the dungeon. Makes our lives easier,” another responded.

“Nah, weren't we supposed to do something special or somethin’? I coulda sworn Yedervin wanted him for some reason,” a third one called out.

“Oh yeah! That’s right! He was supposed to go straight to the chopping block. Guess he really irked Yedervin something fierce. We oughta put him up top at least,” the first one said, smacking his forehead.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Stupid job,” the salamanders stopped before the imposing front gate, the moon overhead doing little to brighten the surroundings. “AY! JACKASS! OPEN UP! WE GOT THE PRISONER!” The salamander cried out. Slowly, ever so slowly, the gate began to swing open, slowly illuminating the lot of them, threatening to reveal their position.

“Be ready,” Yusadel whispered, pulling his sword from his waist.

“Oh, wait. I never got to ask before. Do you have magic?” Garrote asked, rolling his shoulders to keep himself loose and limber.

“Funny you should ask,” Yusadel replied, his body suddenly cackling with electricity. Before the door could even open halfway, Yusadel was gone, a brilliant trail of lighting following behind him.

“What th-” one of the salamanders yelled, falling to the ground in pieces before any of them even had a chance to fully turn around.

“Lighting. Cool!” Garrote shouted, following after Yusadel with Trenton.

“Are you alright Karfice?” Trenton called out. Even though he was no longer under duress, Karfice was just standing there stock still, not moving a muscle. The poor guy was probably in shock from the suddenness of everything that was happening. First they meant to jail him, then they meant to kill him. It’s not an easy thing for anyone to hear. But as Trenton got closer, he realized that wasn’t the case at all. When they got around to his front, Trenton could see that Karfice’s eye was closed, his breaths soft and airy.

“Is he sleeping?” Garrote said in disbelief. “I wish I could be that relaxed.”

Trenton grabbed Karfice by his shoulders, shaking him awake, “Now really isn’t the time to be sleeping Karfice!”

“Huh?” Karfice yawned, coming out of a groggy stupor. “What’re you doing here?” Karfice asked, rolling his head lazily over to look at Trenton.

“We’re getting our friend back,” Garrote said, holding out his hand for Karfice to shake. “I’m Garrote.”

“Like the-” Karfice started.

“Yes, like the wire.”

“Huh.”

“Still no fighting?” Trenton asked.

“Yeah, still no fighting. I’ll help you out, though. I can play support,” Karfice replied, cracking his neck with his one arm.

“Are you sure? We’re kind of fighting against the salamander emperor here,” Garrote pitched in.

“Sure,” Karfice shrugged, “it’s not like I’ve got anywhere else to be. My house is miles from here, and I really don’t feel like walking through the city right now.

“C’mon, we can’t waste any more time here,” Trenton said, the shouting and screams from inside the temple suddenly breaking through his focus.

Surprisingly, Karfice seemed to have no issue keeping up as they ran through the still open gate, Garrote and Trenton preparing themself for a fight unlike any they’ve had before. The inside of the courtyard was carnage, the bodies of many dozens of mutilated salamanders covering the field, their insides coating the stone pathways and ornate marble fountain. Any who happened to still be alive were scrambling up the guard towers when their group arrived, chasing after a stream of light circling all around the upper rampart unbelievably fast, bolts of lighting spraying out in every direction from Yusadel, colliding with the ground and enemies alike, leaving them dead on contact.

They broke forward, leaping over the salamander remains to get to the front door which hung ajar, dozens of salamanders streaming out onto the field in messy clumps to intercept them. Trenton lifted his hammer high above his head, slamming it into the ground with a great force, causing the ground around him to break and splinter, shifting the terrain to throw the encroaching salamanders off balance. The ground shifted, yielding to Trenton’s demand, skewing and slanting every direction, most of the forerunners tripping up just long enough to be easily dispatched. But even as Trenton bashed through the hoard, expertly dodging around any magic or projectiles sent his way, he was making no progress, two salamanders stepping forward for every one he killed.

They were holding their own decently well, Karfice summoning walls of ice to help block and slow down the lizards, keeping himself further back so as to avoid any of the combat himself. Whenever a salamander would approach Karfice, he’d easily step around their swings, twisting and throwing them back into the fray, whereupon they were crushed to death by either Trenton or Garrote. But it was only a matter of time before they were pushed out all together. They needed an alternative strategy.

Trenton leapt backwards next to Karfice, losing ground to the surging hoard, using the newfound space to send a surging wave of earth towards the salamanders, “Aren't you going to run out of ice!? It’s too dry here!?”

“I told you before, I’m really good at making ice. Just trust me,” Karfice replied, his tone rather relaxed for the carnage all around them. “Now come on. We’re getting nowhere like this.”

Karfice clasped his hands together, summoning a rising pillar of ice at their feet which curved over the salamander armada, sending them sailing over the entire enemy force. He wasn’t lying. Karfice was really good at making ice. In fact, even as barrages of fire blasted into the ice from below, the heat bringing Trenton to a vigorous sweat, the ice seemed unaffected, not even starting to melt.

Garrote noticed the two of them flying through the air, his mind lighting up with possibilities. Garrote jumped up, using his graviturgy to place himself right in between Trenton and Karfice, keeping low to stay his balance. But the moment that he did, other salamanders seemed to take inspiration from the maneuver, lifting themselves into the air to intercept them.

“Garrote,” Trenton said, looking at the salamanders flying towards them.

“Right, I’ve actually got a new idea that I wanted to try,” Garrote said, closing his eyes and allowing them to approach. When they were just close enough, Garrote’s eyes flew open, his hand swinging from right to left.. Suddenly, the salamanders on the right lurched over them as if caught in a stray torrent of wind. Garrote bunched the flailing mass of limbs together with the group approaching from the left, swinging the massive clump of salamanders into the group in front of them, using their bodies like a massive boulder. Trenton watched as their bodies twisted odd ways, their bodies and blood raining down onto the battlefield.

“That worked surprisingly well. It’s a little hard to control, though, and heavy, too. Damn,” Garrote said, sending the salamander boulder into any remaining flying assailants.

“Can you hold it a little longer? It’s working wonders,” Karfice asked.

“Yeah, of course I can.”

When there were no more salamanders dotting the air, Garrote threw his arm down, slamming the boulder into the ground again and again, smashing handfuls of slow soldiers with every attempt, his clump of salamanders slowly growing noticeably bloodier and bloodier with every successive strike. Finally, with the temple wall practically upon them, and the hoard below them much thinner than before, Garrote lifted the mass of salamanders high into the air, squeezing it with all his might, before letting their juiced innards spray over any salamanders remaining below them, forcing their remains to explode out in every direction. It didn’t do a lot of damage, but it would sure as hell demoralize anyone caught in the crossfire.

“Neat trick. Where’d you learn it?” Karfice said, slanting them downwards right at the door. “Also prepare yourself. I have no way of slowing us down.”

“You what!?” Garrote cried.