The Emerald Ruin

Tempest weakly smiled as they all began up the stairs. Through the top of the stairwell showed the night sky, twinkling with hundreds of stars like small diamonds in the black sky. As they crested the top of the stairs, they entered the top of the temple. Several crumbled pillars stood on the edges of the large flat platform. At one point they might have held up a roof, but now they held up nothing but the sky. At the end of the platform was a large stone statue of an elven woman with a crown, hand outstretched towards the sky, holding up what looked like the cosmos in her hand. The statue was covered partially in moss and half of the woman's face had crumbled away. At the statue's feet, was the man responsible for the demonic incursion into the material plane.

It wore a simple dark silk cloak with the hood down. It didn't have skin, rather scales made of jagged emeralds and a dagger-like tail slithering out from beneath him. Its clawed feet scraped against the stone as he stepped about, finishing up a large and complex summoning circle made from his own blood.

Finishing his magnum opus, the emerald being stood to his feet and turned toward the 3 adventures before him. His face was that of a slim wicked dragon made in green gems. His eyes dimly glowed a sickly dark green. He grinned at the sight of the three warriors approaching him, his thin lips like a crack in the ancient stone around him. His smile spread even further, revealing his toothy maw. His teeth were jagged like obsidian knives, and shimmering scarlet flecks speckled his fangs. A long scar on his lip and cheek crackled as he smiled, as if it was an expression he hadn't made in a very long time. When he spoke, his voice was deep and gritty, but somehow also sounded young for something that looked so ancient. His voice invoked the sound of gravel scraping against smooth stone, causing the adventurers to slightly grimace.

"Ah, no wonder the demons seemed more excited than normal. What a lovely surprise.. A group of heros have come to stop the apocalypse." He calmly spoke, his words dripping with caustic sarcasm. He gave a few sarcastic claps. Then he spotted Tempest and his smile widened further than what seemed possible. "Well well well! Could these old eyes deceive me? Farinir, what a surprise for an old friend to drop by." Tempest's eyes widened, a breath trapped in his throat.

"Xarterim.. Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Tempest said, taking several steps forward. The dragonborn chuckled. "What needs to be done, of course. You of all people should understand. After all, you're the one who wanted to summon that devil. What a massacre, it's a shame you had to go and sacrifice your pathetic soul to try and kill us all." He said, violent green light shimmering across his eyes.

"Enough!" Tempest shouted. He ****** a hand forward as liquid jet flames erupted from his fingers. The fire streaked across the air, quickly surrounding Xarterim in a web of flames. Tempest closed his hand and the streaks of flames imploded onto the summoner with a loud blast.

However, once the flames dispersed the emerald dragonborn was unharmed. A thin sheen of magic then dissipated from around him. "My my, Farinir, you've actually damaged my soul barrier." He chuckled. "Impressive. You've grown so much in the past few years."

"Well, I'd love to stay and fight; unfortunately I've completed my work here. But fret not," He made an exaggerated and ostentatious bow. "I still have a lovely parting gift for the three of you. An old pal of yours just begged me to see you." In a flash it looked as if the blood from his body burst from his scales, then wrapped around him and tightened. Then the scarlet shroud shrunk down and vanished.

"What was that? Who was that?" Isak asked, gesturing to the scorch marks where the summoner had stood.

"Before I was Tempest, my name was Feinir. But I've long left that name behind." He answered. Then Darris spoke. "You're the one who summoned the devil to kill the people you'd spoke of?"

"I didn't have a choice, Darris!" He shouted, quickly tuning to Darris suddenly. "I was-" He was cut off when a pulse of magic came from the runes in front of the statue, the air suddenly dropping to below-freezing temperatures. The runes on the ground began to glow, in the center of the circle where the emerald dragonborn had been standing a portal opened up. A creeping layer of frost and shards of ice spread from each run, creating an intricate ring of jagged ice at the centre of the summoning circle.

The head of a long sharp spear tore through the stone within the ring of frost, ripping the masonry apart as if it were a thinly-stretched sheet of fabric. A pale blue claw followed shortly behind it, its insectoid talons digging into the stone. The creature pulled itself from the depths of the portal, using its long ice-like spear to heave itself entirely out into the material plane. The blood drained from Tempest's face as a spine-chilling wave of cold swept across the party. Despite the prior summer heat, the party could now see each shallow breath they took, and they felt frostbite beginning to slowly claim their flesh. The creature was large, bigger than even the Tanarukk that had killed Elrik. Its body was made up of segmented icy-blue plates leading, like that of a beetle. The monster looked like the frozen corpse of a thri-kreen with the face of an umber hulk. It slowly stood up from its hunched crouch, towering over the party as it emitted several low thunderous clicks from its cruel mandibles. It stared at the party with it's multifaceted eyes, no semblance of emotion until it's gaze reaches Tempest.

"Gods help us..." Tempest muttered. Suddenly, he grabbed both Darris and Isak's shoulders and pushed them behind him, still staring down the devil. "It's an ice devil, stay behind me." He ordered quickly as he pointed toward the devil with two fingers. The creature charged forward with supernatural speed, its spear ready to impale Tempest like a skewered roast.. A crack of lightning and several thunderous clicks imiminated throughout the temple..

From Tempest's fingers came a large bolt of lightning that struck the ice devil in the chest, however the devil didn't stop its charge.

Isak stepped intercepted, holding his shield forward, ready for the attack, but the devil had no issue dealing a countering blow.. The devil's spear moved like a blizzard wind, slamming the haft into Isak's side, sending him into the stone railing. After swatting the warrior, the devil continued its charge towards Tempest. Suddenly the devil swung a fienting blow, causing the two adventurers to flinch and duck. It used this opportunity to curve to the side, raising its spear above Isak as it readied a coup-de-gras.

In a rage Darris rushed to the side of the devil and swung with his scimitar against the monster with all of his might. I didn't even make an attempt to dodge the attack, instead the blade shattered against its exoskeleton, leaving not even a trace of the blow on its scales.

The devil clicked its mandibles in some sort of inhumane approximation of a cackle, stabbing into the stone through Isak's heart. A split second afterward it heaved Isak's corpse towards Darris, like a farmer tossing a hay bale. The body slammed into him with incredible force, sending him skidding into the feet of the statue. Darris's skull slammed against the stone queen's feet, and he felt blood drip into his right eye. His mind had gone numb and cold, barely comprehending the blurry figure walking towards him, barely flinching as a blast of lightning rocked its side. With its free hand it dug its claws into his face and head, lifting him up in the air so he could see its cold insectoid eyes. He heard a faint femine voice in the back of his mind, but wrote it off as delirium before his life was extinguished by the devil. It stared into his eyes for a painfully long second, seeming;y searching for something deep within his soul. It shook its head and scoffed, before slamming him into the ground by the side of his head, the force of the impact combined with the devil's claws ripping into his head caused half of his face to be torn off. It turned away from Darris, writing off the human as not worthy of an execution.

Pain flooded the right side of his face, at least with the nerves that still existed on that side. Then he noticed he couldn't see out of that eye, probably because it lay next to his other blade nearly 10 feet from him. Suddenly, being a coward didn't sound like too bad an idea. Darris glanced up to the battle in front of him, only partially processing what was happening in a state of foggy delirium.

Tempest was evading the ice devil as best he could, continuously putting magical wards onto himself only to have them shatter from the next blow. In between casting his wards he was using his hand to cast several runes into the air. In the sky, storm clouds began to form, churning above the temple they stood on. Crackling arcs of lightning began forming in the clouds.

Taking a quick step back, Tempest raised his hands and grasped at the air before slamming his forcefully down, gripping the frigid air. In tandem with his gesture, a bolt of golden electricity split the storm clouds and struck the devil directly. The monster screeched as steam rose on its blue scales, electricity coursing through its body. Using its stunned state, Tempest appeared behind it in a blink, thrusting a sword of magical force into the devil's back.

With a ferocious shriek the devil spun around quickly, its spear cleaving into Tempest's now un-warded chest like a gust of silver wind digging deep into his chest, tearing apart his ribcage and rupturing many of his organs.

Tempest stayed standing, ignoring the bleeding gash just below his heart. He raised his arms again as a bolt of lightning burst from the clouds and struck the devil. He then ****** his arms forward, another bolt of lightning cracking out from his fingers directly into the monster's chest.

The ice devil was pushed back nearly 10 feet from the force; grinding its claws into the stone to stop itself. The devil's insectoid armour cracked and splintered from the multiple attacks; steam rising from its body before quickly chilling to frigid fog.

Darris, still slumped against the statue, managed a faint smile. Even a monstrocity such as that could still die. For a moment he'd forgotten. He stumbled to his feet, nearly falling over in the process. Blood fell from his chest and his face, but he hardly felt any of it, in fact he didn't feel much of anything. As if possessed by an outside force, he drew Trent's dagger from his pocket; emitting a fading golden light. Then, as if given a push, he ran forward.

The devil either had not noticed Darris, or simply ignored him, as it dashed forward again, sidestepping a ray of flame from Tempest. It reared back it's spear, before thrusting it forward with inhuman force. However, a streak of light flew across the devil and wizard's vision, colliding with the devil's spear. The spear was deflected back by a swift golden ******.

Between Tempest and the devil stood Darris. Half of his face had been torn away, blood pooling down his face and neck. His empty eye socket, however, glowed with a faint golden glow, as did Trent's ceremonial dagger. His expression was slack, his eyes more devoid of emotion than the devil's, as if his mind was turned off.

The devil rapidly ****** its spear into Darris. Darris dodged the first stab and deflected the second with the dagger. The third strike, however, pierced right through his chest, the wicked bladed tip emerging nearly two inches out of his back.

Darris didn't even seem to notice as he raised the dagger above his head and ****** down with the force of both his arms. The glowing blade collided with the ice devil's head. The devil screeched as its exoskeletal plate around its head cracked. The devil jolted back in retreat, a burning hot rage refracting out in its insectoid eyes as it began to recover from the severe blow. The spear dislodged from Darris's chest, leaving a faintly glowing hole in his chest.

Darris felt a hand on his shoulder, looking back with a blank expression. Tempest stepped ahead of him, pushing him back as he did.

Tempest grabbed the ice devil with both hands, gripping each mandible. A layer of frost formed over him, blackening his fingers. However he did not let go, instead tightening his grip as the ice devil.

Then the infernal runes on his arm began to glow. His skin began to tear open at his arm. He screamed in pain, but so did the bone devil. Its chest began to glow golden, as if it were about to explode into flames.

Then the storm clouds crackled. A red bolt of lightning struck down, twice as large as the previous ones, engulfing both Tempest and the devil.

Tempest looked back at him, his face looked relieved. However his eyes were nearly completely glazed over. His skin began to tear away, as did his muscles and bones, nonetheless he managed a smile. "I'm sorry." Was all he said before his body was torn away by the vicious bolt of lightning.

Then something appeared in Darris's hand. He looked down at the object in his hands. A silver ring, the same as Tempest was never without. On the inside of the ring was a small engraving. It was written in a language like that of the sigils that lined the walls of the temple. Infernal marks. He couldn't read any of the words. But for one reason or another, the word 'salvation' came to mind.

Then the light from his eyes and blade vanished. As did the funnelling storm cloud above the temple. Then Darris felt all the pain through his body. But he didn't react. Darris shouldn't have known what they said. He didn't know any of the runes in the temple after all. But for a reason he didn't know, the word 'salvation' crossed his mind. He dropped his scimitar and slid the ring onto his finger.

He glanced forward at the devil. It looked back. It was injured, but not as much as him. Then it dashed forward.

Time moved in slow motion, almost at a stand-still. Darris began to think of his life. He wondered what his family was doing at that moment. They were nearly halfway across Sige, in a small village of no renown.

His mother, Terissa: a kind woman who had cooked the best buttered rolls he'd ever had.

His father, David: a hard working man who tended the endless fields of grain their family owned.

His younger sister, Susie: a smug little girl who annoyed the hell out of him. Thinking back, she was just stubborn. Just like him.

His older brother, Darek: a worker like their father who wanted to be just like him. In Darris's opinion he was more fit to join a guild like Fame then himself.

Darris wondered what each of them were doing at that very moment. His mother baking; his father working in the field alongside his brother, and his sister playing around the village with the other children.

The bone devil was nearly to him now.

Darris wondered if anyone would ever find his body. He knew other adventurers were coming; Tempest had sent out a message. But he wondered if they would be able to fight their way through the creatures that flooded in. The portals seemingly had just begun to open when Squad 12 arrived, and nonetheless all of them had met their end.

The devil reared back its claw.

Darris knew he would die. He was surprised he'd even made it this far. Whatever that burst of energy was was gone now. He had no strength to swing a blade, much less kill the creature before him. He let out a sigh. They had been so close. Even if the devil had died the portals wouldn't close. More creatures would flood through.

The claws cut deep into his head.

'I wonder where I'll end up' He thought. Maybe he'd appear at the base of mount. Celestia, the afterlife for great warriors. But he didn't imagine him to be all too great. Or maybe the endless battlefield of Ysgard, where heroes fought in an endless war, retelling their greatest triumphs. But Darris was no hero. He couldn't even save his friends.

The claws swiped to the side, carving into his skull, and his brain.

Then Darris was without thought. His vision faded to black. And then everything was complete silence.

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