Tartarus Beckons by Edmund Batara (reading an ebook .TXT) 📕

Of the dokkalfr, two survived, the masked warrior and another melee fighter. The mage would have escaped, but he was too slow. Three smaller flame creatures leaped on him and tore the mage to pieces.

Sford was already busy. Chain lightning spells were already flooding the battlefield, stopping the jotnar in their tracks. Even the fire giants halted, wary of the dangerous coruscating flashes that jumped from one victim to another.

“A magnificent magical display, milord, though it bothers me a little that we still don’t know what these ruins were called,” said Sford, referring to the walled enclosure created by Tyler. “But I am afraid I am nearing magical exhaustion.”

“Go! Join the others, tell them to be ready to block the entrance. I’ll delay these bastards,” shouted Tyler.

With Kobu at his side, Tyler again created walls in front of their enemies whose ranks were still being ravaged by the remnants of Sford’s spells. It wasn’t as tall and wide as the barriers he had earlier created, but his purpose was to delay, and give the company time to catch a breather and figure out a defensive strategy.

But he couldn’t resist letting loose a rain of lethal blades onto the front ranks of the milling horde. He barely could see the enemy, and limited the barrage to the area just after the walls he had conjured, mindful of the power of Ymir around them. Even with the restriction imposed by the jotunn lord of cold and ice on the land, Tyler wanted to do it, if only to make up for the feeling of helplessness when the battle started. Then he fled with Kobu into the courtyard.

A quake spell would have been perfect, thought the mage as he ran. But I can’t risk destroying the ancient portal. And those two scouts are taking too long.

A quick look back revealed the brown haze was, in fact, a collection of dust clouds, and they were already closer than he expected.

As Tyler and Kobu entered the courtyard, the company and the two dokkalfr survivors were already deployed near the entrance. Under Tyndur’s direction, a killing zone was created around the opening, allowing entry for a few feet inside the area.

Admittedly, the arrangement didn’t make use of Astrid’s abilities, but the mage saw that the Valkyrie was positioned to their rear, presumably to take care of any enemies climbing up the walls. And to Tyler’s relief, he could see the pair of scouts were already approaching the group.

Hopefully good news, as he saw Habrok nod, but lousy timing. We’ve got jotnar on our tail.

He saw the masked woman beside Orm and strode to her. Sford was at their back, with a clear view of the entrance and what lies beyond it. Everything appeared ready, all they needed was for the jotnar to make an appearance after they had smashed the barriers Tyler had put up.

“Your name, warrior,” demanded Tyler.

“Magna, High Jomsviking of the House Haffson, First Mage,” stammered the woman. All the defiance and antagonism appeared to have gone out of her.

Loki does have that effect on people, thought the mage, and my dealing with a deity on a first name basis must have shocked her beyond her ability to comprehend. Gods usually don’t do that with mortals, especially a human.

“What was this place called?” he continued. He had lost patience as a result of being tricked into another battle, and Tyler’s frame of mind was presently not conducive to extending small courtesies. “The dokkalfr must have known of this place from their lore, not to mention that your people intentionally sent us here.”

“The Alfar and humans called it Solens Tårn,” replied the female warrior.

“Tower of Sun, eh?” said Tyndur. “Surprisingly, even I haven’t heard of it. Must be older than I am.”

“It is an ancient fortress originally built to watch over the movement of Ymir’s legions. But it also served as a thorn of the side of our people, and when the strength of our ancestors grew, and that of Solens Tårn waned, it was taken. The stronghold of Kunigunda was built to prevent another Alfar or human outpost from being established again on these lands.”

Tyler took a quick look around – stone ruins, rubble, and rocks greeted him. At the rear of the courtyard was an incline leading farther up the mountains. Petrified remains of trees were the only signs of vegetation. He turned to Habrok who stood beside with Kadir. As soon as the ranger saw the mage’s attention on him, he walked forward.

“No jotnar at our back, sire. No clear exit, either. We discovered a large cave leading deeper into the mountains, but we don’t know its purpose, and the place is infested with spiders, large ones,” reported the ranger.

“We tried going in, but the spiders blocked us,” added Kadir. “Ugly beasts. I know they’re supposed to be insects, but I’ll thrice-damned if I’m going to call those things mere insects. The smallest was as big as a dog!”

“Probably cousins of the ones we’ve encountered before, Kadir. News of your handsomeness must have spread throughout the spider colonies,” called out Sford, to the laughter of Orm. “And spiders are not insects!”

“I hate to break the merriment, boys and girls, but our guests are here,” bellowed Tyndur.

At his warning, the warriors and Sford readied themselves. The mage was puzzled at the lack of missile troops among the jotnar, at least with the humanoid ones. He had not seen any yet, but thought the ice elves of Ymir might have their own version of bowmen. Drake-riding ice creatures with javelins do exist among their ranks, Tyler remembered. The trio which ambushed him and the Gothi when he first arrived was of such a kind. Among Sutr’s minions, he couldn’t imagine what kind of creature would be the counterpart of archers. But if there were such fighters, then they must be few and not usually utilized by their warbands.

Flame wolves and smaller four-legged creatures rushed the entrance and immediately fell to the defenders. Anybody and anything which tried to enter was open to frontal and flank attacks, and not surprisingly, some even didn’t live long enough