Chapter 152 Black smoke

Chapter 152 Black smoke
Irin looked ahead. Koth had pointed out the hill to her. They were still too far away for her to see the stones, but it was their destination. The head of the temples had sent out clerics to ensure no travellers got the idea to camp too close to the stone circle. The road blockade had begun. As they didn't know what would happen when they brought the talisman closer to the circle, they stopped on the road closest to it. Irin and Koth had travelled on the road just a week before without issue. Irin handed out her protection amulets. The only ones without amulets were the clerics who would keep the road clear.
"Noodle," she said into a saddlebag. The green snake came zooming out and she laughed. "Come along," she told him. He flew by her shoulder as they moved over to where the three wizards and Melir were standing. "Melir, could you do me a favour?" she asked.
"Of course. What do you need?" he said.
"Could you watch over Noodle? I'll need to focus on protecting the high priest, and I know he won't stay put with the horses if he senses danger," she told him.
"Sure, but are you certain?" he asked.
"I am, thank you," she said and nudged Noodle. He got the hint and flew over to Melir and landed on his shoulder. Koth walked up to her and placed an an arm around her.
"Trying to protect him?" he whispered low in her ear.
"Yes, I won't be able to keep an eye on him if things go south," she admitted.
"Meghart tells me his father and brother have done an excellent job training him to use a sword, and he knows magic," Koth said.
"I know, I know. It just feels better knowing he has Noodle as well." Koth placed a kiss on her cheek. When she looked up at Meghart, he gave her a rare, genuine smile and a nod. She nodded back. They would look after their own. They were practically family. They stood in silence, waiting. The evening grew darker and Irin leaned a little against Koth. His strength comforted her.
"We are ready; the area is clear," Jacob told them.
"Ready to do this?" Koth asked her. She smiled at him and nodded. "I love you," he reminded her.
"I love you too," she said, and they shared a kiss. They left the horses and walked towards the stone circle. Clerics were setting up fires just outside it. With the setting sun, the fires added much-needed light. Their group walked past the fires and stood in the middle of the circle. Irin looked at the thirteen stones. They looked ancient and rose high in the air. Some were even taller than Koth. All of them had a broad base and narrow top. They had been polished to perfection. Even now, more than a thousand years after they had been erected, they still looked like the monument they were meant to be.
"Now what?" Nenhir asked.
"Koth, are you ready?" Jacob asked.
"Ready," Koth said. He walked towards the centre. The heads of the temples took a stance inside the circle, but spread out in the four cardinal directions. Irin stood next to Jacob, drawing her sword. Nenhir looked at her in surprise.
"Yes, that is definitely bigger than mine," he admitted. She gave him a quick smile. The other lead clerics took their stance next to their heads, and the priests and priestesses spread out between them, forming a circle within the circle. The wizards and Melir drew closer to Koth in the middle. Everyone was in place. They were ready to start. Koth took the small bundle from his robes, placed it on the ground, and unwrapped it. Irin glared at the statue. There were few things she had truly hated, but this thing was one of them.
"Beneath the stones where silence clings, where deathless words can still sing,
The ancient seal will carve apart by trembling hand and fearful heart," Almot recited. Koth knelt by the statue and hit it with the hilt of his dagger. Instead of the sound of metal hitting wood, it sounded like metal hitting glass. A cracking sound spread in the circle.
"No dawn will rise, no bright wind comes.
Only the hiss of dying flame, as iron sigils crack like bones, and shadows stir beneath the stones," Senaya spoke. Again, Koth hit the statue with the back of his dagger. Another cracking sound filled the air.
"The circle groans with hollow sound, and dust rises cold from sacred ground.
While through the dark the old curse spreads like whispered breath among the dead," Libero called. Another hit from Koth's dagger. This time there wasn't just a cracking sound. This time a wind stirred in the circle and moaning came from beneath their feet.
"Then from the deep the spirit climbs, unbound at last from grave and time. No longer chained by thread or scar, nor locked beneath the fallen stars," Jacob chanted, and Irin could feel his magic flow into the words. Koth hit the talisman a fourth time, and now there was no cracking sound. There was a scream coming from it, and it drove the moans from beneath them to increase. Irin focused on calming her heart. No one would benefit from her panicking. She glanced at Melir; he stood between Nenhir and Meghart. She could see fear in his eyes, but he stood steady, Noodle still on his shoulder. She didn't blame him for his fear. Only a fool wouldn't feel fear in a situation like this. She respected him for keeping his fear in check.
"Yet as the final seal is torn, the night itself seemed newly born. For where the soul of Vexirin passed, no living flame would long outlast." The four heads of the temples chanted the final verse together, focusing their combined magic into it. Koth hit the statue a final time and jumped back. It was lucky that he did. The statue cracked open, and black smoke welled out of it. The same kind of smoke came from the base of the thirteen stones. Soon, black smoke was swirling over their heads. Irin watched it and waited. A streak of black smoke dived down towards the group. It went after a priest, but bounced off him as a subtle green glow blocked its way. Irin almost smiled, as she could swear the smoke had shrieked in anger.
"What is all of this?!" a priestess in blue and silver robes called out.
"It's the souls of the people buried here. The releasing of the warlock's soul must have affected them as well," Libero called back. His goddess was the mistress of death and ruler of the underworld. He, if anyone, would know. Irin saw a strand of smoke going towards Koth. Irin had to force herself to remain in place. The smoke bounced off him as well. The slight green glow enhanced his green skin and made his tattoos even more visible.
"I'm okay," he called back to her. "Works like a charm," he added with a grin, holding up her amulet. If he could still joke around, he had to be fine, she thought.
"Time to show what Holea's power is. You know what to do," Libero called out.