Relic Doll

"Evening, all."
Kerrone landed in the circle, just as another Relic Doll broke through and attacked his benefactors.
Hesliced it in half at the waist, then crushed it's head.
Another relic lunged at him; he held out his hand towards it, propelling the flailing figure over the rooftops, into the distance.
"Mind if I join you?"

 

Raskia lifted her leg and winced as she snap kicked a relic before bludgeoning its skull with the hilt of the sword. “You‘d need another doll to do that.” She moved around Alastor and flanked him as the Relics recognised him as a threat to be dealt with. “The doll would have to know how to do that kind of thing. Those sorts are rare but we do have them. One of them works here at the palace.” Raskia swung her axe again smashing open the chest cavity of a doll. “It would cause you a great deal of pain, no doubt the herb people would have to make you sleep for days on end.”

 

Dlieza was still utterly disoriented as everyone began to chase after the black-haired Drakan toward Lorn's wall. Attackers?

She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing here but it seemed that the only decent thing to do would be to try and help.

Dlieza went back to the stables at a dead run and burst in on Keenan who turned with his mouth open.

"I need Spook! That is," she shook her head, frustrated, "Wyndhoof! The dapple I just brought. Quickly."

"But he belongs to Lord..."

"I don't care, there are attackers at the gates and Spook is as well trained to fight as any knight."

She hadn't stopped moving but went straight to Spook's stall. He caught her heightened state of excitement immediately and whickered, throwing his head up, a nervous white ring around his dark eyes.

"But tack, no time to saddle..."

"No need for it," Dlieza snapped, leading Spook from his stall and clambering up the wood, sliding onto the big horse's back, clutching his silver mane and the leadrope.

She dug her heels in and yelled, "HA!" and Wyndhoof, wearing only a halter, leadrope, and a small but very determined woman, swept toward the closed gates.

"Open the damned gates! Open 'em NOW!" Keenan roared, and the gates opened just in front of the horse's nose. It swept through like a silver freight train, skidded, throwing up a spray of gravel from the great hooves, as Dlieza turned him sharply and bolted for the gate after other defenders.


The breached wall was a sight that Dlieza could never have imagined. Other than the Relic Doll that she'd glimpsed on the road she hadn't seen one before and these would haunt her nightmares.

She pulled her staff from where it was slung across her back and aimed Spook straight at an impassive doll that radiated menace. It was straightening from over the dead body of a human male.

Its eyes fixed on Dlieza, almost uncaring of the horse. She clutched a double handful of mane and crooned to Spook, turning him loose to do as he had been trained.

Spook's teeth clamped on the Doll's shoulder and pulled it off of its feet. It struck at the horse's face but was already tumbling through the air and as it did Spooks' huge steel-shod hooves were raised to meet it. A second later the doll was nothing more than barely recognized fragments stomped into the road surface.

Another came at them as Spook finished that one off and Dlieza swept the staff in an unforgiving circle, bashing in the thing's cheek before drawing it back and using it as a lance, smashing into its eye.

The doll staggered back and Spook turned on it. Dlieza held on as he finished it. She crooned to the big horse, keeping him calm though she was more frightened than she'd ever been. There were so many. How could the small group of defenders, no matter how valiant, fight them all off?

 

Certainly an unexpected development. A wall that had stood strong against attack for centuries was suddenly breached, attackers pouring into the city. Relic dolls. He had learned much of them in his travels, and it was rare that one was alike unto the other. They had varying degrees of mechanics within them. Some were almost fully human; others were almost entirely machine.

But their humanity mattered little now as they came charging into the city. As yet, Dareon had still gone unnoticed by the group he was with. Sometimes it was best that way. Alas, now it was time to step out from the shadows and do his part. He drew back his hood, muttering the ancient words of Arcana as his eyes rolled back into his head. He focused his mind, collecting the energy around him and funneling it into his building spell.

His eyes snapped back, suddenly alive with blue fire. He pushed his hands forward, and from them burst forth a hail of ice needles. Under its barrage, the Dolls he aimed it at were rent asunder; the needles tearing through their flesh. He cut a wide swath in the ranks that fought around the group, and then he released his mind from the spell.

 

The Gates were a pile of splinters rattling about the path that was at the mouth of the gate. On the walls archers were flopped over the sides like bloody rag dolls their limp limbs flopped in the wind. Smoke had began to fill the cobbled streets and bodies and pieces of metal littered the little walking space that was left.

Rhue was cornered and at the mouth of the gate he could see shadows milling hundreds of angry ants. Pressing forcing their way forth. Arms of dolls flailed as they reached to grab what they could, people animals, weapons. Above the hundreds of voices, speaking in numbers and violations people were screaming in anguish and grief. The city had become over ran. Several raggedy soldiers wrapped with bandages, wounds weeping fought against the dolls.

An arrow was shot skyward by a rouge doll who had taken the liberty of one of the deceased archers weapons. It tore into Chaos’s wing, he became unbalanced and with a shuddering flap he swooped low before crashing to the ground his wing buckling under him in a plume of dust and smoke.

“We have to burn them out, Rhue shouted the city is lost to us.”

Raskia panted sweat dripped from her forehead and the weapons she carried became slippery under her grip. He was right the city was lost.

Dareon shot forth a shower of blue needles, only just visable within the smoke.

"How long can you keep that up for friend?" Rhue asked

 

Dereon took in a deep breath, collecting himself after his effort.

"How long can you keep that up for friend?"

It was a Draycon man, apparently their leader for the time being. Dereon looked him over briefly.

"Two minutes, perhaps, before my mind is consumed in the spell. Though I doubt I should be able to walk of my own accord after such an effort."

 

"Two minutes, perhaps, before my mind is consumed in the spell. Though I doubt I should be able to walk of my own accord after such an effort."

Rhue nodded as he parried a blow and flicked a weapon from an enemies hands. “Good save your strength for now we’ll need to try and reach the castle if it is still in one piece I would be grateful if Raskia and yourself could flank us.”

“Raskia is there anything you can do to these things that we can‘t?” Rhue asked.

She took a little longer then he would have liked to answer. “No my grace, some of the relic pieces in my head are broken. I can‘t communicate with them or try to destroy them from the inside.”

Rhue cursed, this was getting worse and worse.

 

Dlieza clung to the plunging horse. Spook was running on automatic, now, not taking many cues from her. As she watched a hail of ice crystals shoot past them and transfix the enemy she gasped at the sight and then the horse whirled, taking her toward another doll, which he smashed with his hooves and ripped with his teeth. A spray of blood showed that this one had some human parts.

She talked to Spook, holding on with her knees and wondering how long this could go on before her muscles tired too much and she fell.

If she fell, she would most likely not survive.

When Spook whirled again she saw the man who had used the ice spell talking to the one called Rhue.

She screamed a warning as a doll leapt for the ice crystal user and Spook pounced with a squealing whinny, the weight of a heavily loaded wagon coming down on two sharp-shod feet, smashing down on the Doll.

More ran to attack her on her right side and she cried out as one grabbed her leg, trying to pull her from Spook's back. She clung to the silvery mane and kicked hard at the thing's face.

 

As Chaos fell, he guided himself to his lance, crashing nearby. Grabbing it up, he plunged it's blade into a relic's head. "So, what's the plan?" he asked to no one in particular. His wing stung like hell, but would have to wait until he fixed it.

 

Dareon turned at a scream of warning to see a Relic charging toward him. Just as he turned, a horse reared up and came down hard with its front hooves on the attacking doll, smashing it beneath. On the mount was the girl he had caught a brief glimpse of earlier. A group of attackers began to swarm her, trying to drag her from her horse.

A flower of fire appeared in each of Dareon's hands. He hurled them toward the dolls. One's face burst into flame, and fire spread across another's clothing. No sooner had the spheres of flame left his hands as two more appeared. Two more of the Dolls went down.

 

Rhue broke through the corner he had been pushed into and unsheathed his blade, moving towards the woman he hacked at the dolls the opposed him.

He almost sighed in relief as Dareon intercepted a doll trying to drag a woman from her horse.

“Try and work your way back towards the castle Rhue shouted.”

He stopped looking around shocked “Where the hell is Raskia.”

 

Dlieza buried her face in Spook's mane, thankful beyond belief that he had been trained including desensitization to fire. Even at that she knew he didn't like the fireballs so close to him and she didn't blame him at all. The scent of crisped flesh, plastic, and other things pervaded her nostrils as the grip on her leg slid away.

Spook moved away from the moving flames and Dlieza straightened, bringing the end of her staff down into one of the fiery faces, knocking it back.

“Try and work your way back towards the castle Rhue shouted.”

Sounded like a good idea to her.

 

"Towards the castle, got it." He ran up to the ice needle man and Rhue. "So, what would be the quickest way?"

 

Rhue tried to look up the path but the smoke obstructed his view. “We‘ve no choice but to take the main road up.”

He continued his frantic search for Raskia where had she gotten to. He couldn’t leave the group in the open like sitting ducks. “Hurry on, I‘ll catch up once Raskia is found.” He cringed at his words. It was stupid for him to try and find her alone. He’d risk being killed, however he couldn’t do without the doll all hope of finding the box of the world would be lost without her.

 

An elegant-looking Draycon approached them, inquiring as to their route. Rhue yelled back that they'd have to take the main road. Dareon looked down it. Swarming with Dolls. Lovely.

Rhue was staying behind to look for someone; Raskia, the beautiful Relic Doll who was also part of their group.

Dareon turned to the road, and breathed a sigh. He began to walk forward, fire again appearing in his hands.

 

Alastor nodded at the other man and woman. "You go. I'll stay here, with him." he pointed at Rhue. "To ensure he doesn't die. Would be a shame if I came all this way, and not get paid."

 

Zachariah let the others shoulder most of the relic fighting. His main concern was the safety of his cousin and himself. He hadn't even put his helmet on yet. Watching the relics really bored Zach, he yawned and rolled his eyes at their oafish technique.

"They're a little clumsy, aren't they, cousin?" Zach asked.

"Quite... aren't you going to do something about it?" Tristan retorted.

"Indeed, I have every intention of sitting here until they've defeated the dolls, so they can tell us why we're here." Zach said, with his sword ready for the unexpected.

Tristan shook his head at his cousin for his silly, sometimes juvenile comments. He was getting ready to say something, when he saw a young child laid out. Being an advocate for humanity, he rushed to the child to try to bring him back. Meanwhile, Zachariah watched the battle move further away from he and his cousin, actually in the same direction Tris ran to help the kid.

"Tris," Zach called to his cousin while watching the others still fighting dolls. "We might have to help them. I can't see getting our money without them around to pay us."

Tris ignored his cousin to help the boy.

"Tris? TRIS!"

 

Dlieza turned Spook, going at a sort of walk not far from the young wizard, for that was what she thought he must be. He still held fireballs in each hand as they waded through the Dolls, he crisping them when they neared, she loosing Spook to smash them or fighting them with the staff. It was a long, wearying business just trying to travel back to the castle.

She would have offered him to ride as well except that when the horse fought even she had a hard time staying on his back.

Who was this Raskia that Rhue was trying to find? And how, Dlieza wondered, had she gotten in to the middle of this?

 

"Live!" screamed Tristan, as he knelt over a fallen child no older than 5 years. His power had closed the deep lasceration wound to the neck, but Tristan feared he'd lost too much blood. He'd stopped breathing, and there was no response when he checked for a pulse. Tristan was too late, though he was able to repair the child's body, the spark of life had already gone.

"Tristan, we have to go! The others are leaving us!" shouted Zach, as he tore through another Relic doll with the arc of his sword. "Are you almost done? What's taking so long with this one?"

Tristan's hands and clothes, especially his white sleeves, were covered in the blood of those he'd saved, and those he'd tried to save. He looked up at his cousin his eyes weary and grim from the continuous use of his gifts.

"Let's go, I should save what little energy i have left in case you get injured."

Zach could see the pain in Tristan's eyes, he wished his cousin would just realize that not all can be saved. He parried an attack meant to take off his head and followed it with an upward arc, slicing the attacking Relic Doll's face in two.

"Come on!" Zach ordered.

Tristan and Zach ran full speed up to the group, but there was no sign of Raskia anywhere. Tristan, recognizing one of the beautiful horses from the dock in the distance, hoped their master would be able to save them from the surrounding chaos. Tristan had always gotten along better with animals than with humans.

"Go with them!" Rhue shouted, gesturing toward the horse. "They're part of our group! Get to the castle!"

"Aye!" Zach shouted, pulling his cousin along. "Let's go Tris!"

 

He had to stoop down and cough, the smoke was to dense. Below the flames he could see a pale hand. He got down on his knees and scurried across. Raskia was laid upon the cobbles her eyes open as was the relic dolls custom when she spelt. She breathed, a whining sound came from within her throat and she coughed a little.

“By the gods,” Rhue muttered. Lifting her from the ground wouldn’t be a task. He was glad this doll was built different from the others or she’d weigh a ton. He lifted her and hurried back towards the group. He could hear the dolls moving about behind him. Some even had their eyes glowing peering through the smoke. Alastor came at a doll and deflected a blow that was aimed at Rhue then pushed the doll back before slicing its arm off then shattering its face with a heavy blow. Rhue tried to move with move hast he didn’t want Alastor to die on his beneath even, if he only wanted to keep Rhue alive for moneys sake.

 

Dareon cast rose after rose of flame at the dolls as they approached. He had to make use of his agility as much as possible; weaving among attackers and away from the large horse that was doing more than its fair share of the fighting. He hazarded a glance behind him to see the man known as Rhue carrying a beautiful Relic Doll in his arms. He fired off a few spheres of flame, impeding a few of their pursuers.

The firerose was a simple enough spell, and effective in its simplicity. But even it took something of a toll on his mind.

They continued to advance, fighting off the attackers on every side.

 

Aviana Fae, ran through the smoky streets. The castle was just in view. The twin towers at its front loomed down upon her the gray stone sombre and steady against the destruction beneath it. At the top of the towers a small group of archers could be seen either side. Almost there Aviana said to herself, glad that she would be the first within the walls of the castle. She pushed her legs to go faster a spiral of gray stone steps came into view in front of the castles heavy wooden doors no sooner did Aviana step foot on the steps, she stopped hearing a whooshing sound. Her head jolted upwards, before she could scream out to the archers that she was not a doll many whistling sounds could be heard. She screamed as the first arrow tore into her body the force of the arrow slammed her to the steps. Her head hit the corner of one and she slumped a pool of blood dripped down from the stairs like a miniature cascade. Another eight arrows made their mark in her body, however Aviana did not feel any of them her, she was dead.

Kerrone, reeled in horror as he saw the woman laying filled with arrows, he looked up cautious of the archers however they had already realised their folly.

He dodged a piece of burning branch from a nearby row of trees that lined the steps that lead up to the castle. Their was a strange thudding sound in the distance. Then an ominous shadow covered the ground. He could feel a menacing presence above him. A flying relic zoned in on him with three other relics flying low behind him. In its hand it held an object Kerrone had never seen before. It was rusty and grey, looking like a stick with a handle on it. There was a strange clicking sound and a sound like a clap of thunder. A small hole appeared between Kerrone’s eyes. For a moment his thought to raise his fingers to touch the blood that had began to dribble from the wound. Then he slumped slowly to his knees then slide down upon his face. The thunder clap was the last thing Kerrone ever heard.

 

Dareon felt genuine anger build up in him as he beheld the young girl getting shot down by their own archers. It was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. It was rare for him to even feel it, but even with its intensity, he refused to be controlled by it. One thing it did do, though, was harden his resolve. He shot fire at any doll that came too close, pouring his mind into his magic as they neared the castle.

 

Rhue swept past Dareon glad for his cover fire, he hurried up the steps past poor Aviana and put Raskia down so she was rested against the wall.

Her eyes flickered for a moment, “Rhue,” that got his attention she used no title. Her eyes were tiny slits of ice blue. “I‘ve always loved your family Rhue…” she went silent and Rhue stared in shock. She loved? She had never spoken of any emotion at all and now the first she expressed was love? He shook his head there was no time to worry about that now. He hurried back down the steps and yelled out to the group. “Hurry!”

 

"What was that?"

Dlieza, too, had seen the girl shot down by the archers. It was a horrifying sight but somehow seeing a man die of nothing more than a hole in the middle of the forehead.

She and Spook surged after Rhue and Raskia, the horse back under her control.

I wish I didn't feel so lost, Dlieza thought. Already it seemed like days since the tranquility of the stables. Her new reality was one of baffled terror.