The room spun, and suddenly Seomara found herself standing at the altar of Albey dungeon again. She looked over at Carnelia and Blurpleberry. "Do we need anything else?"
Blurpleberry shook his head. "I'm ready."
Carnelia looked over her weapons for a bit before replacing the cylinder with her puppeteer bars. "I don't have as many crystals as I'd like for a long confrontation. But we can't exactly go back to resupply, so this will have to do.
"Right." Seomara inspected her own weapons and armor and decided they were fine. There was a little wear, but nothing that would impair her fighting. "Then should we go now, or wait a bit to see if the goddess regains a bit more strength?"
"Now," both Carnelia and Blurpleberry said.
"Glas Ghaibhleann could awaken at any moment," Carnelia pointed out.
Seomara nodded, then took a deep breath and dropped the medallion.
This time they found themselves in a more normal dungeon. Blurpleberry stretched, then took the lead as the trio headed down the stairs.
The battles began as soon as they tripped the first chest. A swarm of poison kobolds appeared then screamed in rage as Blurpleberry slashed them to the ground. As the tough monsters began to rise Seomara drew her blades and performed her own whirlwind attack, finishing off half. She looked over to see Carnelia had done the same on the other side.
"We'll all have to work on crowd control it seems." Carnelia adjusted her grip on the control bars.
"Maybe I need better swords," Blurpleberry muttered.
Seomara performed a few practice swings to get her swordsmanship back up to par. "I don't think we're going to find anything better in the dungeon, so we should probably press on."
Blurpleberry merely grabbed the key from the fallen and began heading off to the next chamber. Seomara and Carnelia followed.
The rest of the floor was a blur of steel and blood. Sometimes weak foes would appear and Blurpleberry would hack them all down. Usually their combined efforts would slaughter the room. Occasionally something stronger would spawn, or a foe would dodge an attack, and Seomara would find herself locking blades with a Fomor.
When they reached the first stairwell down Carnelia held up a hand for another rest break. "Give me some time to replenish my mana. Healing takes a lot out of me."
A growl from below caused Seomara to raise her blades again. Blurpleberry cursed. "Looks like we'll need to clear one more room before that rest.
Three waist high black dogs with fiery eyes bounded up the stairs. "Hellhounds!" Carnelia yelled. "Kill them fast, before they can use their magic!"
At those words Seomara dropped her swords and rushed in with a punch. The demonic dog yelped as she flattened its nose, then whimpered as she kneed it three times in the head. A final punch to the hellhound's spine put it away for good.
Turning she saw Blurpleberry was busy pinning his foe to the wall, while Carnelia had used magic strings to hold her foe in place. Seomara took advantage of that to line up her strike, then finished the demon off in one blow.
Carnelia sighed in relief as it fell. "Good. Those things can cast fireballs. It would be embarrassing to die like that. And it might have caught all of us."
Blurpleberry eyed the creatures. "Good thing they die faster than they cast."
"Yeah." Seomara walked over to recover her blades. "So I guess we can rest now?"
"For a little while," Carnelia said as they sat down. The mage closed her eyes and began meditating.
Seomara turned to her other companion. "So... is this enough of a challenge for you?"
"Sorta." The man shrugged and frowned. "I'd like better rewards. And there's something still missing. Maybe when we get to Glas Ghaibhleann..."
Seomara nodded, but she didn't really understand. Or maybe she did. It was more exciting than the cakewalks she'd done before. But so much was at stake....
She shook her head to clear it. Worrying about those details weren't important. Right now she wanted to win.
A few minutes later Carnelia opened her eyes. "Alright. I'm ready to move on."
"Let's go then." Blurpleberry jumped to his feet and headed down the stairs. Seomara and Carnelia followed.
The second floor was no easier than the first. Hordes of enemies spawned, many immediately dangerous. Blurpleberry however continually blunted the initial attack, while Carnelia and Seomara crushed the weakened foes. They'd fallen into a rhythm, so while their enemies had gotten stronger, Seomara found herself dueling less often.
As they reached the second staircase, they cut down another lycanthrope almost without noticing. Only it's disappointed howl told them of its passing. The trio looked at each other in surprise. "Maybe we should take a breather, in case we run across a foe who doesn't fall to our usual attacks," Carnelia said.
"Not a bad plan," Seomara replied.
Blurpleberry hesitated, then nodded. "I am a little tired. And I don't want potion poisoning."
This pattern continued for two more levels. The next floor brought a return of the gargoyle, but the massive creature's ability to shrug off blows didn't matter against three fighters. The fourth floor brought a wave of armored skeletons who knocked both Seomara and Blurpleberry over before Carnelia finished them. Then as they headed down those stairs a wave of hollow knights appeared, managing to stab Carnelia before being destroyed.
As they traversed the sixth floor Seomara was much more cautious. They'd healed up from the previous fights, but mentally the dungeon was starting to wear on all of them. Even Blurpleberry was slowing down. The alternative was a fatal mistake, and none of them wanted to die.
Finally they reached a slightly larger chamber with huge double doors. "This might be it," Carnelia said with a relieved sigh.
"A pity it shall be the last thing you see."
Seomara whirled to see the Dark Knight from Tarlach's memories stride into the chamber, flanked by two hollow knights. The black armored figure pointed his sword at them. "Your journey ends here."
"Take the knights! I'll handle the 'Dark Lord,'" Carnelia said as she pushed forward.
Seomara was worried about her friend, but she followed the suggestion. She rushed straight at the left knight. As before the creature met her charge with an inhumanly fast strike, but Seomara leaped up and kicked it in the face. As the armor reeled she dropped her blades and hammered the chest piece until it cracked.
The screech of metal turned her attention to the other fighters. Blurpleberry had taken the armor's reactionary hit, but he positioned it so his armor bore the brunt of the blow. Carnelia on the other hand was backing away from the dark knight now.
"Carnelia!" Seomara yelled as the evil warrior raised his blade. Carnelia hopped back, then smiled as she threw out her control bars.
Streams of energy flew out and wrapped around the man binding his movements. The dark lord reared back, struggling against the bonds. "What?!"
Seomara wasted no more time. Putting all of her energy into her fist she slammed it into the warrior's chest. "Augh!" The dark armored figure flew across the room.
To her surprise he rose again immediately. "Hrm. Those tricks. I should have recognized them earlier. I shall have to prepare myself for our next meeting." With that the black armored figure turned and fled.
Seomara started to run after him, but a hand fell on her shoulder. She looked back to see Blurpleberry shaking his head. "Our foe's behind that door right now."
"I don't like letting people like that survive," Seomara muttered, but the warrior was right. They needed to finish matters here.
Seomara moved to back up Carnelia as the mage slowly pushed open the massive doors. The three adventurers strode into the room as the portal opened.
The space was massive. Bones and body parts hung all across it. "Did we get here before they finished?" Blurpleberry asked.
"I'm afraid not."
Seomara snapped into a fighting stance as two figures approached. One was Mores, the other was the false Morrighan. "Glas Ghaibhleann is completed," the fallen druid said. "And you shall be its first victims."
"Wait Mores," Carnelia pleaded. "That's not the real goddess! You're being used!"
The black robed druid just snapped his fingers and turned away. The room began to tremble as the false Morrighan said, "Now foolish humans, meet the fate of your race."
Seomara stepped closer to her two friends as the shaking intensified. "I don't think they're listening." Above them, the bones ripped from their hooks whirled together. There was a flash of dark light, then and a blast of pressure. Seomara braced herself against the wind, then gasped at the sight before her.
The Glas Ghaibhleann stood tall. Taller than any giant. Taller than any golem. Seomara guessed the creature was easily over thirty feet in height. Its stomach was thin, but its torso was huge, probably to support the four massive arms. The two lower arms held giant cleaver blades, each bigger then she was. Broken and twisted white wings jutted from its shoulders. Its strange stooped stance allowed its head to look down on them without bending its freakish neck much. And finally, leather, steel bindings and bandages covered it in a patchwork fashion, the most obvious being the blinder placed over where its eyes should be.
It reared back it's body and screeched in rage before ponderously stepping towards them.
Seomara slapped her cheeks to try to focus. How could she attack something that huge? What could she do to even damage it?
Her comrades seemed to have no such worries. Blurpleberry ran forward, swords set to stab into it. Carnelia was focusing on her wand, summoning flames to it.
As Blurpleberry stabbed the monster's thick leg an idea came to Seomara. She couldn't damage the vitals, but she could perhaps slowly break one of the legs. Perhaps that would slow it down enough for Carnelia to finish it. She began to move forward as Blurpleberry dodged a strike from the one of the giant cleavers.
The monster roared, and black mist sprung up around it, revealing six lesser gargoyles. Blurpleberry cursed and began whirling between the monsters, trying to clear out the lesser threats before they overwhelmed him.
Seomara saw it as an opportunity. She rushed forward and smashed a fist into a gargoyles stomach then used its head as a springboard. She flew up high right to the monsters knee and landed a perfect drop kick on it. She heard bone strain and crack, then she was falling down.
The creature squealed and swung one of the massive cleavers at her. She froze in terror as she realized there was nothing she could do to dodge. The massive steel wall grew larger and larger.
Then it jerked away as flames struck it. Seomara thanked Carnelia with all her heart right before she crashed into the ground. She immediately rolled to blunt the impact and managed to lurch to her feet.
One of the gargoyles that Blurpleberry hadn't gotten around to murdering yet was waiting for her. She managed to recover her footing just in time to hop away from its sword strike. She retaliated with a shoulder rush, doing little damage but sending it next to her warrior companion. Blurpleberry chopped off its head before turning to face another summoned wave.
The Glas Ghaibhleann had decided to ignore them and turned its full fury on Carnelia. The mage however wasn't backing down. She unleashed another concentrated blast of fire that made the creature take a step back. Then she began focusing again.
Seomara moved to try to slow the monster down. Carnelia was obviously doing something different to get such concentrated bolts so quickly. The damage the woman was throwing out was quickly exceeding the creature’s ability to heal too. She needed to let Carnelia keep casting as long as possible.
She rushed through the gargoyles, pausing only to trip one for Blurpleberry. She dashed past the massive legs, stopping just before the creature and focusing all her power into her fists.
As the mighty giant stepped past her, she aimed, then unleashed the most devastating strike she could into the creature’s Achilles tendon.
The beast screamed its wail, then lifted a foot to crush her, but she was already tumbling away. She smiled as it whirled back towards her. If it ignored her to attack Carnelia she could keep nibbling at it, but if it attacked her Carnelia would destroy the beast. She watched the feet to try to predict its next move.
"Look out," Blurpleberry yelled. Not seeing any danger, Seomara hesitated then edged backwards.
The energy blast landed right in front of her, then swept upward. Seomara cried out as light and pain flooded her eyes. The beam raised her up, then flung her away. She whimpered as her body hit the wall then rolled back onto the ground. She felt sore, and scorched. Still she pushed herself up. She wasn't dead yet.
Through her pain she saw Blurpleberry slashing gargoyles left and right while retreating from the superior numbers. His robes were bloody, but he fought on.
The Glas Ghaibhleann wailed, the reared back, probably as another bolt hit it. Seomara managed a stumbling run forward, just in time to see the beast hit once, then again as it stepped forward.
Seomara was just entering charging range when Carnelia's blast smashed the creature's knee. The giant crashed to the ground, the impact knocking everyone off their feet. The giant monster began pushing itself upwards with two arms, but Carnelia cast again, and the beast's head rocked back. The red clad mage whispered one final spell, and the creatures head exploded.
At that the two remaining gargoyles turned and fled. Blurpleberry didn't pursue, instead droping to one knee to rest. Carnelia shook her head to clear it. Seomara just drank two potions as she limped over. She needed some healing.
"Well. You defeated it. You are much better than I expected."
Seomara whirled then stumbled. As she caught her balance she saw Mores and the false Morrighan walking into the room. The fake turned towards the druid. "Still the bones of a Glas Ghaibhleann should make it immune to magic."
"That's right. If it were properly constructed." Mores continued walking forward, then turned to face the false goddess. "I however tainted the adamantium, weakening its protection. After all it needed to be destroyed."
"Mores, you betrayed your goddess?" The false Morrighan looked hurt as it reached towards the druid.
The druid cut his hand through the air sharply. "Stop lying Cichol. I've seen through your disguise."
Seomara gasped. "You knew?" Carnelia asked
Mores sighed. "I feel foolish it took me so long to realize it, but yes. The goddess would never have ordered me to murder my own child."
"You humans are so foolish. You knew yet you still continued to do my bidding." The fake goddess vanished revealing Cichol's true form. Seomara shuddered. The white wings and dark black hood with no sign of humanity was just as intimidating in the flesh as it had been when she'd traveled as a ghost.
"I imagine you're proud that the beast was killed, but it doesn't matter. After all, the plan was to have it destroyed." Cichol snapped his fingers, and the giant exploded into greasy smoke.
Seomara tried to hold her breath as the dark wave washed over her, but it was no use. The ugly black fumes seemed to force themselves into her nose. It smelled like rot and putrescence, and the mere hint of it caused her to gag and wretch. That forced her to breathe in, and soon she was on her knees heaving. Throat burning and stomach aching as she desperately tried to purge the fumes. She heard her comrades collapse as well.
"What? What was the purpose of the Glas Ghaibhleann then," she heard Mores cry from a distance.
Her teary eyes saw the darkness begin to spin towards where the body fell. As the darkness gathered a patch of fresh air hit her and she threw herself towards it. She lay on the ground and heaved in good air as the miasma pooled into a darkness that seemed to break through the floor.
"When the Glas Ghaibhleann dies it releases a massive amount of dark erg. With these Milletians here, at the lowest point of Albey, this dark power will allow me to tie the shadow realm closer to Erinn." Cichol laughed. "The stage is finally set. Now my invasion can begin."
"I won't let you get away with this Cichol!" Mores began charging a blast of energy.
Cichol raised his hands. "You seek to pit your powers against a god?"
Seomara tried to stand and aid the man, but the toxic miasma of the Glas Ghaibhleann had sapped her strength. She saw Blurpleberry holding himself on one knee with his swords, and Carnelia drunkenly stumbling forward, but none of them could help in battle.
Mores' first blast slammed into a shield of light. Cichol began his own chant, summoning dark powers to himself, as Mores called up his own shield.
Dark energy streamed from Cichols hands and exploded in a darkness so deep it was blinding. Seomara blinked her eyes to clear away the light, and managed a weak smile as she saw Mores standing there.
"I've learned your tricks god of the Fomors. Your spell can't hurt me," Mores boasted.
"Indeed? Well then, let us see who it can hurt."
Seomara gasped as the black robed god began casting again and turned towards her and the others. Mores flinched as well, then began running in front of the dark god.
Her hand shot forward as she desperately tried to intercede. "No! Don't!"
Mores leaped in front of the blast just as Cichol released it. The dark energy ripped open the elder druid, slamming him into the ground in a brilliant explosion of darkness.
Seomara stared at the fallen man, tears filling her eyes. Why? She couldn't die right? And even if the attack could hurt her he shouldn't have sacrificed himself. Why?
"Pitiful human, your efforts were in vain." Cichol began chanting again, and Seomara knew this time the blow would strike.
Rage and frustration filled her. "I won't die like this!" The words helped push her to her feet, and she managed a slow shaking step. Blurpleberry was moving forward as well, using his swords like canes. Carnelia was trying to cast, mana flickering in and out of reality.
And it was all worthless. The dark god’s spell would complete in seconds.
Light burst into the dark room causing Cichol’s spell to shatter. The dark god took a step back as black wings snapped open. Morrighan stood where Mores had fallen, the goddess radiating a power she hadn't before. "I order you to stop."
"Morrighan? Free? It seems you Milletians have some skill after all." Cichol warily faced the goddess.
"Cichol. You have disrupted the human world, and used my appearance to do so." Morrighan's expression hardened. "Your lies destroyed a good man, and turned him against his fellows. As the goddess of revenge, I cannot overlook this."
"Lies?" The dark god laughed hollowly. "I gave him no lies. Death, destruction, betrayal. All of these things are human creations." The black robed figure clenched hi gloved hands into fists. "Only when humanity is exterminated can the true beauty of Tir Na Nog be achieved!"
"You know this will only lead to the death of more Fomors? How can you ignore your own people like that," Morrigan shook her head sadly.
Circhol pointed at the goddess. "How can you continue to support the humans! They have the world of Erinn all to themselves, but they taint it with their evil and greed. All Fomors burn with the desire to destroy the humans and bring true paradise!"
"The humans may have yet to bring forth paradise. But the cries of those mourning your misdeeds have reached me even in my prison." Morrighan's wings flapped. "As the goddess of revenge I must punish you for your evil acts!"
"With you still weak from imprisonment?" Cichol turned to walk away. "I think not. We'll battle another time goddess." The black robes began to fade, but he turned one last time. "You three. Carnelia, Seomara, Blurpleberry. I will remember you."
And then the god was gone, leaving only a corpse and a hole in reality in his wake.
Morrighan turned towards the three and waved her hand. Seomara sighed in relief as the pain in her body vanished. "I'm sorry. I tried to get here in time, but I was too late. It took me too long to regain enough strength to face Cichol."
"So what now?" Seomara looked at the dark hole of miasma.
"For now rest. You have defeated the Glas Ghaibhleann. Even though it upset the connection between the worlds, it was still better to destroy it here, then to let it loose among the people of Erinn."
Carnelia started to ask a question, but stopped as another pillar of light appeared. The solemn figure of Nao spun to the ground and kneeled next to the broken form of Mores. Seomara stepped forward to ask the woman why she was here, but the tears forming in Nao's eyes made the truth clear.
"Yes," Morrighan said. "Nao was once Mari. I took her into the soul stream after she passed away here. Now she sends her father on to his final destination."
Seomara felt her own eyes tearing up as Nao wordlessly closed the old man's eyes, then lifted her arm to the heavens. Carnelia and Blurpleberry moved next to her to stand in vigil, as the old Druid faded into light, then slowly dissipated into the sky.
The Goddess raised her hand, and Seomara's body suddenly felt light. "I shall return you three to your own world. You have achieved a great victory today. But soon I will call upon you again I fear. Take care, heroes."
There was a sensation of falling, and then her body jerked upright, as if she'd awakened from a deep sleep.
Seomara looked around. They were in Tir Chonail. The real Tir Chonail. The busy marketplace swirled around them, with buyers dashing between stores and sellers hollering out their wares.
Her eyes met Blurpleberry's and Carnelia's. She saw the same pain and weakness she felt in herself. They had won, but it didn't feel like a victory.
Carnelia put her hand in between the three of them. "Next time, we settle this."
Blurpleberry but his own hand in. "Agreed. I'll be stronger next time."
Seomara wiped away her tears, then took their hands. "Next time we destroy Cichol, and all his plans."
The three squeezed their hands together, then slowly stepped back. Seomara felt like something was undone. Something important. She didn't want it to end like this.
But in the end there was nothing to do. For now.
"I'll see you around," Blurpleberry said as he turned away and began to rush off.
Carnelia hesitated, then opened her arms to offer Seomara a hug. Seomara sniffed, then embraced the older woman. It felt childish again, but it was comforting.
"If you ever need anything, tell me," the woman said.
They slowly parted and Seomara nodded. "Same. Call me if you're ever in a bind."
"I will." The older mage turned and began walking down towards the moon gate.
Seomara looked around the marketplace. She still felt like she needed to do something. But she had no idea what.
Her eyes fell on the bank, then the familiar signpost.
Sighing she walked over to the stone edifice, scratched out a quick note, tossed it in the mailbox, then lay down on the fields of Tir Chonial to wait.
The sun arced across the sky. Then the moon. Seomara waited patiently, occasionally eating to stave off hunger.
As the sun started to rise a familiar blue haired figure appeared, walking up the hill. Seomara stood and dusted herself off before managing to wave. "Hello Ysolte."
Worry and happiness flashed across the other woman’s face. But Seomara obviously didn't manage to hide her dark mood from her friend. "I take it things didn't go as planned?" Ysolte asked with a frown.
"Not exactly," Seomara said.
Ysolte walked over and sat down, patting the ground next to her. "Wanna tell me about it?"
Seomara nodded and sat down again. "Yeah, if you've got the time."
"I'm listening," Ysolte said.
Seomara took a long breath, focused her mind, then began to tell the story.