Chapter 159: End Of The March

Balkalor

It took us just over a day to get where we were heading. Tali stayed with us for the most part, but sometimes she would pick up on some anxiety from the animals and she would rush over to them and let them know she was safe, and that they were doing great. She told me she had kept telling them they didn’t have to fight, that it was okay to wait, and then we’d take them home. So far however, she has relayed that they all wish to protect her in some fashion or other, and a couple of them seem rather just pissed the fuck off and wanting to get in some payback. She says it’s not quite like that as she’s humanizing it, but that’s how she interprets it.

I say I am all for it. Now we have these massive, well some of them are massive, a few are roughly the size of Elephands, and a few like cars. The smallest ones are the ones that are already back home so we didn’t have to worry about them. There’s probably a lot going through her head so I reach down and clasp her hand. She turns and looks up at me slightly startled, and then she smiles at me. I love her smile so incredibly much.

We are hoping that this group will be the rest of the main ones we need to take care of. We don’t really need to wipe them all out per se, but we have to deal with any that are causing havoc and are more likely to come back against us. Tali has said that Gia told her that evil would never be eradicated, and it shouldn’t be completely, I guess there’s something about balance in there. I have no idea, but I know that I want to wipe out as much as I can get away with.

So, we’ll check out the castle-type structure, and make sure they don’t have any more of the Hosaith animals trapped and enslaved here. I want to find out what the fuck those collars are and who the hell is creating them. We know they have some powerful magic, so most likely it will be bone witches. We have already killed several, I am hoping there aren’t really many left, as I hate those bitches.

It’s been a long time since I faced a gargoyle, but those are vicious. When they started playing around with the dark magic that the bone witches wield, it was chaos. So, we ended up hunting down several rogue groups who were causing so much death and destruction, but that was the last skirmish I was involved with regarding them. Tali hasn’t seen one of those yet, but I’m sure she’ll hold her own. She’s been practicing and getting so much better with her sword work.

I hear a shout from the front of the group and look up to see Simion holding his hand aloft. We all freeze and wait. Not sure if we’ve been spotted or if they see the structure, but we’ll find out.

I can feel the anxiety rolling off of Tali so I look down at her, “It will be okay, love. We’ll deal with these bastards, and then most likely be able to get them all home where they belong before we have to take a head count and see which heads we still need to collect.”

She laughs, “So, we’re starting a head collection, huh? I’m not sure I want to be looking at these bastard’s heads for any length of time, so not sold on that collection, babe.” I laugh this time.

“Yeah, well I know of some cultures that hang the heads of their enemies from their gates to warn away others not to fuck with them. So, it’s more the symbolism I was referring to, not actually hanging the heads in our garden like decorations.” She starts laughing and she covers her mouth to keep quiet.

“Oh my god, can you imagine, skull planters. Use the heads of your enemies to plant this season's flowers. That would be one fucked up aesthetic, holy shit, can you imagine the garden parties?” Now we were both laughing, but trying to be quiet about it.

“We shall have to share that with the others, love.” She nods and goes back to focusing on the front.

Simion comes to us, “The structure is there, and we know they will see us long before we get there, so the dragons are taking flight to judge what their capabilities are, and see what their response is. The rest of us will continue in formation, and be prepared for defense.” We both nodded as did Meliyan, Zahaine, and Cerberus. The pack was not too far away from us.

I saw the dragons ascend into the air as we moved forward. We were about 200 yards out when we saw the “battlements’ for all intents and purposes filled with gargoyles, some protectors, and some other creatures.

I looked around at my brothers and the woman I loved, “They are watching us, so no doubt we’ll start getting hit with shit in a moment. Not sure if it will be magic or weapons they use first honestly.”

As a blue light burst over the front of the line, we had our answer. I heard distress from a few, but I knew that Simion had his shield, so hopefully he could use that. We also had a few who had defensive abilities where magic was concerned, so hopefully, they could help as well. We moved forward to stand beside Simion and help deflect any magic.

I looked down at Tali and she had a very strong look of concentration on her face, so I thought she was probably trying to convey something to the animals, and I saw them moving closer. They couldn't hide as there were no trees or anything. There were boulders big enough that some of them could, but for the most part, they were very visible.

The doors of the structure opened, and they poured out to stand before us and pull their weapons. We all pulled ours. I saw another flash and 2 of the animals dropped, and I heard Tali scream “No”.

Then we were running.