Scientific Sorcery : Beware of Kittens!

The last rays of the sun vanished behind thick clouds, plunging Svalbard into an eerie twilight. Silver tendrils of fog began creeping across the land, slithering between the dismantled ruins. Stormy growled from her perch on my shoulder, her fur bristling.

"I know, girl," I murmured, rushing up to the barge via the wooden steps. “It’s time to go.”

I cast a final glance at the smithy and the remains of Svalbard, a pang of sorrow twisting in my chest.

There was still so much to do, so many experiments to run, so many more things to make. But time had run out, our enemies were finally here.

At least, thanks to Galateya, I managed to extract everything of value from Svalbard from every grain of dragonglass to every tree that had blightcoal within its trunk.

Teya's massive iron-clad canine form padded up to the barge, water rushing audibly through its innards. Her human-shaped body sat atop the construct, bow at the ready.

"Time to cast off! Take the barge North," I said, meeting Teya's watery gaze. "That's where the current has taken most of your Chronacist crystals. You'll be stronger there, if my calculations are correct.”

Teya nodded as Stormy mewled out my words to her, the river spirit’s rippling face dancing with a thousand determined expressions. She raised her hands into the air and the river next to the oversized barge began to roar, encircling the log ship. The six horses whinnied, stamping their feet. Stormy clung to my neck, her small body trembling.

The roaring river engulfed the barge in its embrace just the first howl split the air. It was followed by another, then another, until the night was filled with a cacophony of inhuman wailing.

"That's a lotta Jonnies," I gritted my teeth, my hand instinctively tightening on my rifle. "Looks like George has er’ full gang out this time for our blood."

Dark shapes began to emerge from the fog, folding through the cliffside passageways or obliterating the forest in their wake. Some were vaguely humanoid, others massive, a twisted blend of beasts defying description.

The foot soldiers of the Gygr came at us from all directions, monstrosities born from fallen heroes. Teya released a massive arrow at the nearest one with a thang, throwing the beast back and pinning it to a dead tree.

"Teya, we need to move!" I shouted, my voice barely audible over the roar of the river and the howls of the Jotuns. "Now!"

Teya's massive iron-clad canine form bounded onto the barge, making it rock violently. Her human-shaped body atop the construct nocked another arrow, letting it fly at a particularly large Jotun that was attempting to leap onto our vessel.

The river surged beneath us, tearing the barge off from its stand and propelling us northward with increasing speed. But the Jotuns were relentless, unafraid of the river now, leaping from the nearby tree-tops and clambering onto the edges of our makeshift ship.

I raised my rifle, taking aim at the nearest monster. The gunshot rang out, and the Jotun's head exploded in a shower of black ichor, sending the beast backwards into the roaring river. But for every one we took down, two more seemed to take its place.

Teya's water blades whirled around the barge, slicing through any Jotun that got too close. Her arrows found their marks with deadly accuracy, but even her immense power seemed barely enough to keep the ever-growing horde at bay.

"Keep us moving!" I yelled to Teya as I reloaded my rifle. "We need to get further north!"

The barge rocked violently as a massive Jotun, easily twice the size of the others, plowed right through a watery hand that managed to slap the others away and landed on the deck. Its body was a horrific amalgamation of octopus, bear and man, with blood tentacles writhing from its back.

I levelled my rifle at it, but before I could fire, Teya's iron-clad canine form tackled the beast. They rolled across the deck in a tangle of metal, fur, and tentacles, threatening to capsize our vessel.

"Teya!" I cried out, my heart racing as I watched the titanic struggle.

Water erupted from the river around us, forming razor-sharp blades that sliced through the Jotun's flesh. With a mighty heave, she threw the monster back into the river, where the current swiftly carried it away from us.

But our troubles were far from over. More Jotuns rushed along the shore, their howls filling the air with a cacophony of madness and hunger. We were vastly outnumbered, and despite our best efforts, it seemed like only a matter of time before we would be overcome.

“Faster!” I growled and the roar of the river beneath us intensified.

As we continued our desperate flight downriver, fighting off wave after wave of monstrosities, I couldn't help but wonder how long we could keep this up. The full force of Chrizantia Malekai's army was bearing down on us, and our options were rapidly dwindling.

I gritted my teeth, firing my guns again and again. I had underestimated how many heroes the Gygr had turned into her minions over seven hundred years and dragonglass pellets only seemed to slow the Jotuns down ever so slightly as their bodies reformed from within.

The Jotuns were working together like ants now, larger one throwing smaller ones across the river to land on the barge. A lanky thing that was a fusion of a man and a gargantuan insect landed on the deck next to me and struck me with a blood blade, sending me careening backwards. The horses whinnied and kicked at the approaching abominations.

The insectoid Jotun hissed, pulling back as dragonglass embedded in my armor boiled and melted its blade-hands, pausing its attack.

Teya’s massive paw covered in dragonglass-coated Ferronite claws struck it from atop me, sending it flying into the river.

The barge had finally picked up enough speed to leave the monstrous army behind us, their howls rebounding against rising stone cliffs. I saw that the river ahead of us dropped, vanished.

A waterfall!

Teya lifted a hand in the air, shimmering faces beneath the helmet snarling. She bent down and grabbed my offered hand, pulling me to herself and strapped me into the seat in front of her just as the barge lifted up, held by a massive watery hand. We flew over the waterfall and down the rapids, bypassing jagged rocks beneath.

The howls of the monstrosities behind us grew distant as the army of darkness failed to navigate the rough, shifting terrain.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the howls of the Jotun army faded into the distance. We had made it past the waterfall and rapids, putting some much-needed distance between us and our pursuers. The barge rocked as Teya pushed it forward down the river further and further away from Svalbard.

"That was too close," I muttered, relaxing ever so slightly as I patted Teya's leather-clad hands that were wrapped around my body. Stormy mewed in agreement from her perch on my shoulder.

Alas, our moment of respite was short-lived.

A deafening boom shattered the air above us, parting the clouds with its sheer force. I looked up, my eyes widening in rising panic.

A lanky man stood atop a massive sword of blood, his figure wreathed in crimson wings. A crown of blood encircled his head, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. He moved at an incredible speed, rushing towards us and leaving a trail of distorted air in his wake.

"Not another one..." I breathed. "Teya, I think we've got company."

The river spirit's watery face within her helmet rippled with concern as she nocked another arrow, aiming it at the newcomer in the sky. I raised my rifle, though I doubted it would be much use against this airborne threat.

Galateya’s iron arrow pierced the sky with a whoosh. The arrow struck true, sending the blood angel spiraling through the air.

I was hoping that he would fall into the forest and be unable to hostile us, but in another moment the man righted himself up in the air, pulling the oversized arrow from his chest with a grimace.

“A goodly try!” he boomed, descending onto the barge from above, blood wings spread wide and thrumming with pulsating magic that warped, folded reality around him, as if pulling all energy into the man, healing the wound next to his heart.

I aimed the rifle at the man, peering at him through dragonglass lenses.

He slowed, coming to a halt just above the wooden deck of the barge. His eyes fixed upon us with predatory intensity.

“Bow!” he said to us, cold voice ringing through the air, amplified with unnatural power.

My knees twitched ever so slightly, but neither I, nor Galateya moved.

“Strange,” the man pursed his lips, his gold and ruby encrusted robes flapping, wings folding behind him as he landed fully on the deck. “Normally people obey me. What sort of dark magic do you wield that permits you to resist the chosen Archangel of Horngard?”

I remained silent, rifle aimed at the man, waiting for him to step closer, not revealing that it was most likely my multi-layered armor that made me impervious to his charisma-infused words.

“Thought that there would be just one of you,” the crowned blood-angel tapped his chin, his red sword flowing to wrap around his slender hand. “Something is off about this quest.”

Teya readied another arrow, but didn't fire it, perhaps waiting for the invincible man to drop his guard.

"Who are you?” I asked.

“You’re Ioan Starfall, yes?” The man asked, squinting at my helmeted head. “And who is that noble Champion behind you?”

"What quest are you on?" I added, not answering his questions.

“I am Jarl Ingvar Dahl of Horngard,” Ingvar replied with a small curtsy. “I am on a quest of Goddess Christianna Vanadís Freyja, the keeper of keys of the Halls of Zal-Slavi! It is her divine words that guided me here to strike thee down, villain!”

“On what crimes do you judge me as a villain?” I asked.

“On the crime of slaying my four-times removed cousin Bobliss Kolamach and decimating his warband of sixty six men!” Ingvar shot back.

I didn’t glance at the large barrel tied to the side of the barge that contained the body of Bobliss suspended in an ever-spinning funnel of dragonglass and Teya’s rocks.

"Not only did you fell the Jarl of Bernt, but you've also stolen the sacred, wish-granting stone of Svalbard, the anchor of the sacred river Glinka that flows through my town!" Ingvar declared. "These are the most grievous offenses against the Law of Freyja, punishable by death! Where is Galdrasteinn of Svalbard?"

"The Galdrasteinn?" I asked.

"After the noble death of Jarl Sunder by dragon's maw, the blessed river Anchor Stone belongs to my town!" Ingvar boomed. "If you reveal to me where you have hidden the holy stone, I will send you to Zal-Slavi quickly, peasant-born scum! Deny my query and I will slice you apart phalanx by phalanx till you beg for mercy ‘neath my feet!”

I wasn’t sure what to say, processing the Jarl’s words. How the hell did the Gygr manage to incept herself into the mind of this man as a Goddess? How many Nordstaii Jarls did she control?

Ingvar's gaze suddenly shifted to Teya, and his expression changed to one of admiration. "Though I must say, the skill of your archery is impressive, hero. Such precision with that massive bow is truly remarkable, to nearly knock me from the sky is quite a feat!"

Ingvar then turned his attention to Teya's canine form. "And this armored Fenrir you ride upon - I've never seen its like before. A truly magnificent beast!”

Finally, he addressed Galateya directly, unaware that she and the iron dog were one and the same. "Tell me, noble Champion, where do you hail from? Why do you aid this vile blackguard? Surely you must see the evil in his actions! What is your name, skilled archer? I would know the identity of one so talented, so that I may invite you to join me in a dragon hunt to avenge Jarl Sunder!”