"I need Ess," Scythia cried.
The Second was only a few moments behind Pierce, and immediately upon arrival, she used her power to amplify Scythia's shield. The sound of all the power in the room lashing against the shield was a deafening crackle that rattled Pierce's eardrums.
"There's only the one hall to get out," Sev yelled. "It will be full of bodies."
"I've got it," said Agrathor. "Ready to switch, Ess." She nodded.
Agrathor readied his spear, and Ess abandoned Scythia's shield to amplify his lightning instead. One of the gems on Scythia's belt exploded, and the shield fell just as Agrathor let loose with a channeled blast of electricity that bore into the mass of armored bodies in front of him. The chaotic jumble of soldiers waiting to attack transformed into a vortex of flaming or disintegrating forms as Agrathor's amplified lightning consumed them. The bodies fell in heaps of ash, but the far end of the hallway immediately began to fill with more troops.
Gorgonbane charged into the gap, Ess and Pierce fighting to keep their flanks and rear protected from the few attackers remaining in the convergence chamber.
All the halls were stuffed to the brim with as many guards and monsters as could effectively fight in such tight quarters.
Some of these will be Sev's old friends, Pierce thought. How did the forgemaster feel about that?
But Sev was laying about with his fists like small boulders, knocking his foes unconscious with rarely more than one punch. He was loyal to Gorgonbane now.
Pierce swung his sword between the jaws of a werewolf, cleaving off the top of its head.
Scythia ruined the skulls of two gen with a wide swing of her flail, its spiked ball crashing through them like clay vessels.
Ess had cleared the space behind them, sending her fiery orbs through the crowd in a tight, zigzagging pattern, ripping their torsos clean off of their waists, spilling their entrails onto the floor.
Pierce flinched inwardly, though he too was spilling the blood of living creatures. It was odd to see someone so beautiful fighting so brutally. Her face was impassive as she slew her foes, as if she were exterminating vermin.
Had she really kissed him last night?
They fought their way down hall after cramped hall, filling alcoves with the dead, leaving destruction in their wake. The rush of battle was enlivening, though Pierce and Scythia did sweat with exertion.
At last, they came to an open space that might have been a courtyard but for the vaulted ceiling overhead. It looked like some kind of training ground. At the far end of the enclosed expanse was a series of terraces leading up to an ornate entryway that marked some other section of the fortress.
"This is one of the staging grounds. That's the Underlord's apartment," cried Sev. "He might be in there if he hasn't fled."
"He has not yet fled," said Ess. "I would have felt him fold away."
"Can you tell if that's where he is?" asked Pierce. There had been a lull in the fighting. Werewolves and gen were forming up on the terraces across the courtyard from them.
Ess shook her head. "I do not know where he is, only that he is here somewhere. If he tries to fold, I will know from where."
Gorgonbane arrayed themselves in a straight line, Ess and Agrathor on the wings.
"They will give no thought to their own safety," said Sev. "They will do anything to protect the Underlord."
"So don't let them get behind us," said Scythia.
They began to move toward the waiting ranks of snarling beastmen and armored gen. Pierce saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. Ess must have seen something too, for she turned to her left and brought her orbs in tight to defend herself from the attack.
Black clothed forms with jet-black faces fell upon Gorgonbane from the sides, silently phasing into existence, displacing the dank air in tiny shockwaves. Ess gave her kinspeople no more quarter than she would have any other foe and sent her orbs careening into their guts with a thought. Pierce had to turn toward his own attacker.
The supra-gen assassin came rushing out of its fold as if he had built up momentum before folding. It collided with Pierce, slamming into his armor and knocking him to the floor. Absently he wished for Axebourne's skill of Stability. The assassin brought a short, straight dagger down toward Pierce's faceplate, aiming for the eyeslit. He deflected it with his blast gauntlet and slammed a fist into the man's face. He should have just fired the blast. The assassin fell back and Pierce regained his feet, drawing his sword. The supra-gen only glanced at the blue light, then began to circle him. Pierce turned and moved to keep somewhat in formation with his comrades, who were all dealing with threats of their own.
The supra-gen dashed in several steps, feinting with its dagger, but Pierce wasn't taken in. In a fluid motion, the assassin drew a katana from its side while simultaneously throwing its dagger at the chainmail covering Pierce's thigh. The dagger broke through enchantment and mail, sinking deep into Pierce's leg.
He should have expected this to happen at some point. No enchantment was foolproof.
The wound hurt, but Pierce left the dagger in and danced away with a stumble. The assassin swiped with its sword after him. Was the katana anti-enchanted too? No sense risking it. He'd already been too gentle with this foe.
Pierce shifted his stance and held his sword above his shoulder. He lunged forward, ignoring the pain in his thigh, and feinted twice, then swung his long blade toward the supra-gen. The assassin lifted its blade to parry, but Pierce's sword cut through it effortlessly. The assassin leapt backward to avoid being gutted but inadvertently looked down at Pierce's blade as he did so. Pierce took the moment to aim his blast gauntlet, then let its power loose.
Red-orange fire enveloped the supra-gen's torso, melting armor, burning
