Fates of Grenora: Return of the Night

Skarra felt a niggling whisper of caution develop in the back of her mind when she disengaged the leader of the Iron Reavers, Thassor. Something was off about the whole thing, almost as if it was too planned and prepared. Her forces were getting decimated from the surprise attack, but they weren't going down without taking a few of the Iron Reavers with them, and yet it wasn't enough. Let alone the rampaging Minotaurs that were quickly barreling their way out amid the chaos.

"Boss," one of her lieutenants shouted. She turned to him, the Orc who was bleeding from his arm that was limp. "Something ain't right here. The night has a chill to it," he said warily, looking around at her surroundings as the battle before them continued.

While Skarra wanted to agree with him, she couldn't. "Keep your wits about you. Old Iron is here on a blood debt," she told him, but her gaze wandered around too. When she looked up, she could have sworn she had seen a swarm of bats streak above, which she didn't find odd since they were coastal creatures, but the way they moved, almost like one mind, did strike her as odd.

"What's wrong? Afraid of getting yer teeth kicked in?" Thassor taunted, caving in the head of a Human like it was a melon. He brandished his hammer, twirling it in his hand, and raised his shield before charging forth.

Skarra roared and raced to meet him head on and they clashed. Her gauntlet fist crashed against his shield. "You are a fool, Thassor! One that I will cherish grinding into the earth you love so much." Her gauntlets' runes activated, and fire engulfed them as she started throwing haymakers and hooks, pounding on the shield, and forcing Thassor to go on the defensive.

Around them, the two gangs raged in a fierce melee, trying to support their leaders as best as they could. Everyone's attention split between them and the Minotaurs that waded into the battle along with the beasts. Most of the prisoners took the chance amid the melee to slink away to freedom.

Thassor didn't relent in his defense, then lit his hammer with lightning. He swung it, aiming to kneecap Skarra, but she raised her leg and pivoted away. She smirked and dove back in, watching Thassor lose ground. She always kept the Minotaurs in her peripheral vision in case they decided to push again, but both gangs had them hemmed up as they tried to bring them down, but to no avail. The other beasts that were freed ravaged anything they could using swarm tactics.

Her attention was pulled back when Thassor planted his shield and hit his hammer on the inside, sending a sonic attack that blew Skarra and whoever else was behind her, back a decent distance. She groaned and shook her head to rid herself of the ringing in her ears, but Thassor charged forth, his shield glowing an angry red as he slammed into her.

Skarra planted her back foot and braced her shoulder to keep the Dwarf from charging any further. Yet, Thassor's hammer tore free from his grip with a crackle of lightning. It wove through the air before careening towards Skarra from behind. She gritted her teeth, bracing for impact. There was hope within that she could tank it if she fully unleashed her Giant form, but that would be a double-edged sword. On one hand, the battle would easily be a swift victory, but on the other hand she risked injuring members of her own gang.

So she did what she could. She released her hold on the red shield and rolled out of the way at the last second. The lightning-coated hammer collided with the red shield of Thassor, inducing a shockwave of power.

Skarra jumped to her feet in time to dodge a piercing sword strike from an Iron Reaver as she grabbed it by the blade with her gauntlet hands, breaking it in two and using the end she held to stab and kill the holder. That only incensed the nearby Iron Reavers to converge on her. Her Ash Vultures trailed behind them, cutting them down as they raced to kill their leader, but a few turned to fight back against the wave.

She quickly glanced around to see where the Minotaurs were since she had lost track of them when she had dodged out of the way. Their massive shapes were easy to spot, but to her surprise, they were no longer pushing any further and instead were staying close together, swiping at anything that got too close. Their nostrils flared as they kept looking up at something, something Skarra had no time to see.

Questions sprang to her mind when she noticed the shift in their behavior until her System Alerts blinked in the corner of her vision. She found it odd since she had it set to only notify her on level ups or… Her eyes went wide as she quickly pulled it up.

Skarra read through them with a growing sense of confusion as she felt something wrong turn its gaze upon her. She quickly pushed that feeling to the back of her mind when Thassor unleashed a flurry of attacks. "Tryin' tah deal some underhanded mental attacks, are ya?" Thassor taunted. "Well, it ain't gonna work, lass!"

Skarra blocked the strikes until one struck true on her side of her rib cage. She winced and tried to hold the wheeze, but Thassor saw blood in the water and continued his onslaught. Skarra was getting hammered, losing ground with each strike. All around her, her Ash Vultures, her pride, were being ripped apart by the Iron Reavers. Everything she had built was being torn down before her.

One of her Ash Vultures rushed to intervene but was struck down by a stray lightning bolt, turning him into a charred mass of burnt meat. Seeing his charred corpse — no, seeing how he risked his life trying to save hers — was all it took for her resolve to unleash her Giant form. The red Giantese tattoos dissolved into her skin as she grew taller, bulkier, and hardier. Many of the Iron Reavers stumbled back, but not Thassor. Her Giant form only incensed Thassor. He threw his hammer upwards, aiming to catch Skarra in the chin, but with her ever-growing enhanced size, what would have knocked her down only thudded against her. With her new height, she could see over most of the three-story buildings nearby. However, what confounded her was the swarm of bats she saw earlier, making another pass over the battle. "Bats don't do that," she thought to herself.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Below her, Thassor continued to batter against her foot. The Dwarf was blind with rage and didn't register when Skarra pulled her foot back and rocketed it forward, punting the Dwarf. She watched him crash through buildings, leveling most of the dilapidated ones. Then she turned her attention to the rest of the Iron Reavers, who gaped up at her. The Minotaurs postured, sizing her up. The beasts fled in cowardly panic. She thought it was because of her, but little did she know something else lurked among them, or rather above them, waiting for its opportunity.

Skarra raised her foot and stomped down, sending a controlled trembling quake towards the Iron Reavers that knocked them off balance. Some of her Ash Vultures were affected, but those that weren't quickly rushed in to slay the fallen ones and help up their comrades to join.

The Iron Reavers regrouped and aimed their crossbow bolts and arrows at Skarra, hoping one of them would wound her. Some did, especially the ones imbued with Skills and enchantments. She had to cover her face with one of her gauntlets before she took a step forward, crushing a group of Iron Reavers underneath her. She yelped in pain when she lifted her foot up to see a pike embedded in her foot.

One of her own men came and yanked it out before throwing it and skewering an Iron Reaver. She made a mental note to give that one a reward when this was all over.

There was a loud boom followed by a streak of lightning that came from the direction ‌where she punted Thassor. She turned and readied herself, lowering herself into a boxer's stance. "Take care of these. I'll deal with Thassor," she spoke gently, not wanting to deafen her allies with her magnified voice.

From a distance, a streak of lightning raced towards her. Skarra grimaced and rushed forth to meet the lightning head on, knowing full well it was Thassor coming back for round two. She crossed the distance, taking careful measures not to crush too many buildings, but from how compact and dense Oldtown of Ebira was built, there were some buildings that weren't lucky. Most of them had been empty ever since her gang had pushed out the residents or used them in their sacrificial games to Dettius, the god of battle for the Giants.

When she was close, she stopped and threw a punch, her gauntlets becoming ablaze in the night that mirrored a streaking comet. The two forces clashed, resulting in a boom that blew Skarra's arm back, nearly knocking her off balance and forcing Thassor to go head over heels in the air.

Thassor willed himself to stop with a grunt, then he flew forward again, his lightning-clad hammer leading the way. The two fought, canceling each other's attacks and counter-striking.

Far from Skarra and Thassor's duel, Evie and Moira emerged, edging themselves towards the chaos. They managed to narrowly avoid the battle because of Moira, since she was quickly and efficiently killing those that got too close to them. Evie was busy keeping tabs on the location of Jared and Pierre, who led the Orcs and Dreadmaws towards them.

Evie saw Skarra and the Dwarf who challenged her, fighting away from the major battle, and that gave them the perfect cover to regroup and meet up with the others. Aldrin was silent, but he was near, judging from the Servant Bond they shared.

"Where is he?!" Moira shouted over the din of the dying.

"Waiting for his entrance! He's dramatic!" Evie replied.

Moira wanted to roll her eyes, but an Iron Reaver took her focus as he raised his mace to batter Moira. Evie struck first this time, throwing a fireball runestone at him that exploded on impact.

"Come on, Aldrin. Any day now," Evie muttered under her breath. Jared and Pierre were close, how close, to be exact — faintly, if they listened closely over the sounds of battle they could hear the shrieks of the Dreadmaws carried by the salty wind that blew in from the port.

Moira and Evie weren't the only ones to notice either as a few Ash Vulture Night Goblins twitched their ears upwards, swiveling them around to get a better sense. The battlefield stuttered, the Iron Reavers and Ash Vultures slowly stopping as the shrieks grew louder. Even worse, there was a continuous thumping that grew along with them, sending a tinge of fear through those closest to the sounds.

"What the fuck is that…?" An Ash Vulture Orc commented before a Night Goblin turned with fear.

"Brace yourselves! The Iron scum have called in reinforcements!" The Night Goblin shouted to which earned the ire of other Ash Vultures, who went back to cutting down the stunned Iron Reavers.

"Wait- " A Human Iron Reaver tried to reason before he was stabbed through the stomach and neck.

Evie only shook her head and smirked. On the rooftops, the first Dreadmaw and rider appeared, giving a deafening roar of arrival. Many on both sides ceased to look up and stare. What they saw was something prehistoric. Baleful red eyes glowed amidst the long black shape, a barbed tail whipped back and forth as claws on its hands gripped the forefront of the building it perched itself on. Its long hook-claws on its feet rapidly tapped against the shilling tile of the roof. The rider, covered in bluish-black metal that glimmered faintly with runes, brandished the same metallic-looking halberd as it leveled it down against the two gangs.

More Dreadmaw riders joined, perching on nearby rooftops that encircled the two gangs, who forgot their animosity towards each other as they gathered in a loose circle to face the new threat. The Minotaurs were hesitant as they sniffed the air that brought the newcomers. Unbeknownst to the rest, the Minotaurs recognized that same stench that lingered in the air all night.

The stunned silence was broken when more bluish-black armored beings with short swords flooded from every alleyway, cleaving into the nearest gang member. The newcomers shocked the gangs into movement as they confronted the unknown adversaries.

Three Skill enchanted arrows arched through the air, impacting in the middle of the large circle of gangs as the Orcs cleaved their way through the masses. "It's time," Evie said to Moira, who looked fascinated but scared.

The battlefield stuttered once more as Aldrin's Vampiric Aura blanketed the field. In that lapse, the Dreadmaws unleashed their barbs, striking from above. The air chilled, and above them all, wispy black mist coalesced into a shadowy figure with blazing green eyes. He raised his hand, and the shadow-like tendrils that slithered behind him elongated and launched themselves into the darkness.

Beneath the Ash Vultures and Iron Reavers, thick tendrils black as void, reached up, latching onto unsuspecting victims. They curled around the leg first before winding upwards around the arms and chest, immobilizing them completely. Many of them screamed and tried to fight off the tendril before it wove its way into the front of their faces. At the tip, the shadow tendrils opened, revealing a maw of fangs that launched themselves onto the faces of those captured, sucking the blood out of all of them and feeding it back into Aldrin.

The fear it instilled spread like wildfire as the Dreadmaws launched from their perches and into the middle of the battle. As one, rider and beast fought, taking swaths of gang members. The irrevocable part of the battle had begun.