Tartarus Beckons, Edmund Batara [bts book recommendations .TXT] 📗

mad. Crazier than the maddest seidr hermit on these mountains. Fortunately, he’s on our side.”

“Huh? What has he done?” asked the curious mage.

“Doing, sire. The rocks down in the small valley are acting crazy. They’re rolling over to a certain spot and crushing the dokkalfr in the process, but it looks like Alal is creating something.”

When Tyler reached a point where he could see what was going on, the mage saw what Habrok described. Large rocks erupted from the ground and joined massive boulders rolling across the valley floor, all towards a central location where a small hill was already formed. Dokkalfr mages were trying to protect their army from being crushed, but the various directions from which the boulders rose or came made their job impossible. Apparently, only Tyler could create the many-sided barrier he had come to take for granted.

Lightning bolts angrily sizzled in some areas as mages tried to break into smaller pieces the large rocks mangling or crushing their brethren. Such spells did succeed yet only resulted in smaller but more numerous stone projectiles hurtling toward the hill. The dokkalfr army was in apparent disarray, but the mage could see they were well-disciplined. Formations tried to regroup, and others took the wiser course of trying to avoid the wave of boulders. The mage observed that if one thought about it, the rocks should be relatively easy to evade as they were all going toward one area.

A glance at Asag revealed the entity had a fixed grin on his bearded face. The mage half-expected a crazy cackle from the demon, but apparently, Asag had not reached that point of mad satisfaction yet. But the demon’s eyes fairly glowed with anticipation. Suddenly, Asag looked at Tyler and grinned from ear to ear.

Nearly mad, but not there yet, observed the mage with some apprehension.

Then the demon looked at Kobu.

“Like the show so far, Kobu-sama?”

Tyler was surprised to see anger flash across the exile’s face. It was but a momentary display, but the mage thought it was a strange reaction from the exile.

“Rolling stones?” commented Kobu. Tyler could see it was a question intended to divert attention from whatever significance Asag’s query had. But the comment was funny in a way only a First Worlder would understand – it was entertainment in a way. Bloody, gruesome, and brutal, but still an event where the company looked on as a mesmerized audience.

“Ah, this is but the appetizer, my royal friend,” replied Asag. Another answer which merited another furious glance from Kobu. The mage couldn’t understand why Kobu was so pissed off. Everyone in the party knew the exile came from a noble lineage. He wouldn’t be the war leader of a noble house back in the lands of Wa otherwise. Kobu even spoke freely of such things.

“And now…” announced Asag. Loudly.

The pile of rocks of various sizes abruptly moved, and the dokkalfr instinctively ran away from it. The accumulation of boulders rose and started forming itself into a vaguely human form. But the rocky shape towered over them, almost equaling the nearest mountain in height. It stood immobile as its natural components swiftly moved to complete the shape, filling in empty spaces and finalizing roughly shaped extremities. The face was featureless, devoid of any human features. Instead, it had a smooth surface. The beginnings of a sharp, wild cackle from Asag startled the company, but the demon didn’t go full-throttle with his mad laughter. Instead, tittering, uncomfortable to the ears and mind, followed it.

Still the only thing missing, noted Tyler. The demented cackle was yet to make its appearance.

Down in the valley, the dokkalfr had started attacking the titanic monolith, and it appeared that Asag’s creation didn’t have the benefit of a magical shield. Pieces of rock blew off the body as lightning and other spells exploded against the stony mass. But as small parts of the monstrous golem were destroyed, they were immediately replaced by more rocks which were rolling up the giant shape.

It’s too big, thought the mage. It wouldn’t be able to move effectively in that space.

Tyler’s observation was accurate. Asag’s creation started moving, slowly at first, and then its speed increased. But considering its size, it was reduced to stamping out its opponents. Most of the dokkalfr were able to avoid being giant-kill at first, as the moving mountain was a slow starter, but when its foot did connect with a group of dokkalfr, the impact and finality of the stomp didn’t even leave injured behind. As it speeded up, the stone soles of the titanic entity became full of bloody gore. Even the company could see the evidence of how gruesome the process was – the footprints of the creature left red, messy marks on the valley floor. But the mage could see that the process, for a killing entity, was too slow and cumbersome. Its size greatly hobbled its effectiveness.

“Not a good way to do battle in a limited space,” Kobu’s voice sounded from behind the mage. The exile had joined them.

“I agree,” said Tyler. “I doubt if the giant could reach into those nooks and crannies most of the dokkalfr are now using as cover.”

“Ahem! I heard that,” cried out Asag. “Frankly, I am insulted. To be clear, I had fought numerous battles with hordes greater than that ridiculous number down in the valley they call an army. This magnificent display was just for my friend Kobu-sama’s benefit. Just to remove any doubt as to my abilities.”

So that’s the reason. Well, Kobu, you did pick the wrong string to pluck in a demon’s psyche. Arrogance is a by-word for these creatures, thought Tyler.

“We’re pressed for time, Alal. We still have a rescue to plan and a lesson in retribution to implement. Enemies have taken my wife and killed a dear friend,” Tyler bitterly told Asag, not without newly-awakened fury in his voice.

“Really? Now, that’s what I call a worthy cause. Go ahead, start planning. I’ll join you in a while. Time to clean up,” replied Asag gaily. A reaction which everybody else found uncomfortably peculiar.

The stone giant suddenly crumbled, the impact of the