NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57 - Rise of the Curtain (Knights)
After delivering her… opening statement, let's say, the berserker immediately comes under assault by crossbow bolts and lances of light, as the second snarlmask, who is running down the hallway to join their companions, and the mage spring to action. The large skeletal constructs begin to move as well, purple flames lighting up in their empty eye sockets as their arms begin swishing around wildly but methodically, creating a whirlwind of steel and death. The skullmask seems to be responsible for this, as essence begins to be funneled from him into them.
Against the savage assault, a phalanx of steel forms as Siegfried leads his three armored fellows forward, their shields raised and forming an impenetrable wall over which the ranged assault washes harmlessly.
The voice of the leader of the adventuring party rings out across the sounds of crashing steel and terrible spells, a beacon of calm as he assumes command of our forces with a focused and measured tone that somehow carries over the developing melee.
“Kallion, deal with the undead. Allea, pressure the necromancer. Astrid… smash them to bits. Knights, cover her!”
Appreciative of the simple command, the berserker simply grins and charges with a roar, the shieldwall opening up seamlessly to allow her to begin her task even as arrows fly down the hall at the skull mask who quickly ducks into a nearby dressing room entrance. But not before one of them impales itself in a layer of bone that is revealed beneath the robe as an arrow pierces there.
The skeletal constructs suddenly find their footing uneven and slippery as frost falls over the hallway, essence swelling around the adventurer mage as he conjures icy surfaces under their feet to trip them and disrupt their rhythm.
The hallway being barely large enough for both of the creatures, their stumbling quickly interferes with each other. It is at that point in time that the knights surge, their voiceless communication allowing them to act with unnaturally seeming coordination. Their blades glint in the darkness as they split apart, each of them hacking at the storm of blades and bashing them away with their shields as the berserker smashes upwards, taking the left creature squarely in the ribcage, dealing a sizable blow and leaving it reeling, but largely intact save for some ribs that cracked off.
Then the leader is there, appearing in the right place at the right moment, almost out of nowhere despite my dungeon sense telling me that he simply calmly walked right to the side of the reeling skeleton. He brings down his own shield upon the creature's leg in less of a bash and more of a slam, the edge impacting on the skeletons knee.
The bone does not break, but the force causes the creature's knee to buckle. Its other foot suddenly finds itself on slippery ground as a coating of ice appears where it is attempting to step back. Two of the unnamed knights are using this opening to bodily throw themselves on the creature shield first, and with the added weight impacting its torso, gravity finally decides it had enough of the creature’s defiance as it topples and falls.
The second one attempts to aid it’s fellow, but is stopped dead in its tracks by my remaining two knights, Siegfried and another unnamed one, and so all it can do is helplessly watch as a figure in a dress that has stayed in the background so far somersaults over the crowded melee, landing a bone shattering kick to the fallen creatures skull at the same time as the berserker brings down her axe that she raised with the previous swing at the undead’s center.
Another red glow is followed by an explosion, and the creature's spine and skull shatter simultaneously, leaving the aggressors shocked.
Dusting off her dress, my lead actress is quickly flanked by my knights in shining armor, and it seems they have presented themselves as enough of a threat for the second skull mask and the lead snarlmask to abandon their pursuit of me for now and to rejoin their companions. Another of the lumbering skeletons makes their way down the hallway to join the aggressors, but after the amazing display of my monsters and these adventurers, I am suddenly much more confident.
Forming a curtain of steel, my knight's charge begins the second act of this conflict.