//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: H A Z E // by Bandy //------------------------------// An extra portion of dinner and an extra hour of sleep left Hypha feeling well enough to rejoin the other acolytes for their mushroom hunt the following morning. Instead of seeing the acolytes off, however, Cumulus held them at the temple dias. “Air’s kinda weird today,” he said to no one in particular. None of the acolytes knew what he meant, and given recent events, no one really felt like asking. They were all sitting there, patiently waiting for Cumulus to make a decision, when a colossal bank of clouds blew in from out of nowhere. Everything beyond the temple dias disappeared, swallowed up by a grey soup. Fog was supposed to come down the mountain at a slow, predictable pace. This fog seemed to rise right out of the ground. It felt clammy. Cloying. Downright creepy. Cumulus’s face set in a deep frown. He closed his eyes, flung his arms out wide, then drew them into his chest. Bands of glowing vapor snaked up his arms. He drew a series of runes in the air, then took a powerful step forward and pushed them away. The runes vanished. A magical wind gusted across the dias, blowing the fog away. Whatever mysterious energy had brought the fog down pushed back against Cumulus’s spell. The fog equalized into a domed lid of clouds, obscuring everything outside the monastery walls. “Very weird,” Cumulus muttered. Just then, Hypha noticed something moving through the fog. A nearby monk taking a walk along one of the winding dirt paths saw the same thing. He looked up. A flash of black fell from the fog and hit him square in the chest. He stumbled sideways and collapsed. Hypha pointed. “Is he okay?” Cumulus and the other acolytes turned to follow Hypha’s hoof. A spear fell to the earth in front of them with a dull thunk. A few acolytes flinched. Hypha just stared. The spear looked different than the ones the monks used. The handle was jet-black. A red scrap of cloth was tied to the end. A war cry echoed over the mountain. The group of acolytes finally found their voices, shouting panicked questions over one another. Cumulus held up his hoof, silencing the whole group at once. “Get into the temple,” he said. His voice radiated calm. “Seal yourself in and stay put. I’ll come get you when it’s safe.” Wrender let out a nervous whinney. “Are we not safe right now?” On any other occasion, Hypha would have laughed out loud at how childish Wrender sounded. But he had no doubt he’d sound just as ridiculous if he opened his own mouth. Another spear landed in the ground. “I don’t know,” Cumulus said. “Please, everyone go inside the temple now.” They heard a shout behind them. They turned and saw Hirruck shoot through the air at impossible speed and land effortlessly next to the dias. Half a dozen armed monks followed. “They’re back,” Hirruck said, panting. “Hundreds of ‘em.” “I knew it!” Hypha hollered. “Cumulus, I knew it—” The look of horror on his mentor’s face shattered his bravado into a million pieces. Cumulus was a master of finding the good in any situation. If he couldn’t do that now, then maybe they were even worse off than Hypha thought. “Get inside,” Cumulus said—no, growled at the acolytes. Growled like a snow leopard protecting its cubs. “Now.” Before Hypha could move, a whistling sound filled the air. Hirruck’s eyes went wide. He made a dash for the protection of the dias. He was too late. A volley of arrows fell from the fog like water dripping off a high roof. One went into his shoulder. Another hit the small of his back. A third went through his neck. Thud, thud, thud. The monks around him got it even worse. Hypha screamed. He took off towards the wounded monks, but Cumulus was on him in a second, smothering him in a vicelike grip. Hypha squirmed wildly. “We have to help him!” What was wrong with Cumulus? Hirruck was still alive, still crawling towards the dias. His orange robes overflowed with red. They had to get him. “Keep the other acolytes safe,” Cumulus whispered to Hypha. “Please. I need you to—” A pegasus in an alien suit of black tiled armor landed amongst the fallen monks. He wrenched a spear from the ground and moved towards Cumulus, murder in his eyes. Cumulus drew another rune in the air. This one exploded into pure white light. An arc of lightning leapt from his hoof and struck the assailant squarely in the chest, knocking him back. The sickening smell of burning fur and ozone filled the air. He fell amongst the monks’ bodies and went still. Hypha staggered back, his ears ringing. He’d never seen a spell that strong. His vision blurred with afterimages of the lightning. Through the haze, he saw an entire formation of black-clad legionaries landing in the central field. A few monks managed to make it into the air with spears and swords to contest them. None of them lasted long. One by one they jerked and fell to the ground, bitten by invisible vipers. The other acolytes fell over themselves to get into the temple. Wrender inched his way towards one of the dead monks, trying to get a better look at the poor pony’s face. Cumulus took off towards the cafeteria, where a group of twenty or so monks were making a move on the cafeteria. Black shapes crawled up the walls of the building, hacking away at the windows, trying to get in. There were acolytes in there making breakfast, Hypha thought. He could almost smell the lentils and bread through the burnt ozone. This had to be some crazy dream. It had to be. It— Wrender stumbled away from the body of the dead monk. He took off in the opposite direction and ran straight into Hypha. The two hit the floor hard. The pain in Hypha’s head came back with a vengeance. “Watch it!” Hypha said. He picked himself up off the stone floor just as two familiar ponies landed at the edge of the dias. Grim and Gruff had forgone their maroon cloaks in favor of black-tiled armor. Their faces peeked out from behind pointed helmets. In their hooves, they clutched identical short swords. “Hypha,” Gruff said in that awful, jagged voice of his. “Glad you’re okay.” That voice put the final piece of the puzzle in place. Hypha understood with agonizing clarity that he was about to die. He’d die violently and slowly, having never experienced the mushroom ceremonies that all monks dreamed of. He’d die without ever learning the secrets of the world. He’d die next to Wrender, of all ponies. What a way to go. Wender’s voice broke Hypha from his spiral. “What do we do now?” “What do you mean, what do we do?” “I don’t know! You were right about those outsiders.” “I mean, yeah, but—” Grim and Gruff took a step closer. The crashing sounds of battle fell away. Terror dripped over Hypha’s heart like molten lead. “I—I—” It was then that he noticed Grim and Gruff weren’t actually looking at him, but slightly behind him. He followed their eyes to the main temple entrance. The doors were wide open. Of course. They wanted in. Hypha knew it would be all but impossible to stop them. But perhaps he could slow them down. “Wrender,” he said under his breath, “do you remember which way Cumulus went?” Wrender nodded. “The cafeteria.” “Go get him and bring him back. We need him to close the doors.” “The—” Wrender looked behind him. His eyes bugged as he caught sight of the open doors. “Right.” Wrender threw himself into the air and took off towards the writhing orange and black shapes crawling over the cafeteria like so many warring ants. “We’ll kill your friend later,” Grim said. “You got us in a lot of trouble last time we came around. When we’re done with you—” He never got to finish. In a flash of motion, Hypha scooped up a chunk of rock from a shattered dias stone and flung it as hard as he could at Grim. It sailed wide of Grim but grazed Gruff’s ear, drawing blood. Grim leapt forward and swung his sword wildly. The larger pony’s lack of speed was the only thing that saved Hypha from having his head lopped clean off. Hypha backed up slowly towards the temple doors. He got his hooves on another rock, danced out of the way of another strike from Grim, and flung it as hard as he could. This one found Grim’s jaw. He staggered back, spitting out teeth. Gruff, his ear still trickling blood, leapt forward to cover his comrade. Seeing Grim’s blood on the dias sent a dizzying rush of adrenaline through Hypha’s veins. But he let his guard down, and Gruff saw it. The legionnaire surged forward, tackling Hypha. The two ponies hit the floor hard and rolled together. Hypha scrambled away. He saw another rock, but before he could go for it Gruff’s leather-bound hoof caught Hypha on the chin. His head snapped back. Temple bells rang in his ears. His eyes fluttered. Gruff hit him again on the other side. Then he got on top of him and started pummeling his face. This was it. One tooth came loose. Then another. Blood poured from a cut on his forehead. His eyes swelled until they were nearly shut. More blows. More screaming. Sound narrowed to a dull roar. He barely felt any pain now. The world closed to a sliver of light. Just then, Hypha felt a rush of air surge through the dias. Something lifted Gruff off of him and flung him away. The world and the pain rushed back into focus. He was wheezing and crying and bleeding everywhere. But he was alive. Through the blood in his half-shut eyes, Hypha saw Gruff land in a heap on the other side of the dias. Cumulus was on him in an instant, driving a right hook into his helmet before stomping on his forelegs with all his might. Gruff let out a trumpeting howl of agony. Without pausing, Cumulus whirled around and drew a set of runes in the air with his hooves. A ghost of a smile crossed his face as he hammered them home. The massive stonewood doors came to life, swinging shut at impossible speed. A long whoosh of air followed by a colossal sound like an avalanche shook the whole dias. The ringing in Hypha’s ears redoubled. Somepony landed beside him. Hypha flinched. “Idiot,” he heard the familiar voice of Wrender say, “it’s me.” “Oh,” Hypha croaked. Even his voice sounded bruised. With Wrender’s assistance, Hypha limped to the edge of the dias. Fires burned in some of the adjacent buildings, painting the unnatural fog a patchwork orange. “Boys!” The two turned at the sound of elder Cumulus’s voice. He stood halfway between them and Grim, who had regained his bearings and advanced on them at a slow creep. “This fight’s over. Can you fly?” Wrender looked to Hypha, who nodded shakily. “Yeah, we can fly.” “Good. You need to get out of here. Go north to Gleeful or Shining Rock. Tell them what happened.” He turned to face the approaching Derechans. “Keep each other safe.” Wrender opened his mouth to protest, but just then a burst of arrows flew through the air beside them. Cumulus groaned as one struck him in the hind leg. Blood wept through his robes. More Derechans appeared behind Grim. “Go now!” Cumulus commanded. Cumulus reared up onto his hind legs and drew a complex series of runes into the air. Static electricity filled the air. A bolt of lightning flew from the elder monk’s hooves, splashing the group of legionnaires behind Grim. They convulsed, frozen in place, then collapsed. Their armor smoldered. A few rose shakily to their hooves. Most didn’t. Hypha stared in awe at the display. He had no idea a pony could channel that much magic. Even as the spell dissipated, he felt ambient energy crackling in the air. He would have stood there gawking forever had Wrender not grabbed him by his robes and dragged him into the air. The momentary lift helped a little, but within seconds a scream of pain erupted from everywhere at once. It was difficult enough to stay airborne in the best of circumstances. Now, beaten, bloody, and terrified, it was all but impossible. The two tumbled half a length above the ground, kicking up rocks and dirt as their hooves dragged along the surface. They careened around groups of legionnaires and monks locked in fierce combat. More lightning exploded all around them. The fires tinged the air with sulfur and smoke. As they approached the northern wall, Wrender called out, “Climb, idiot!” Hypha screamed in agony. His chest burned like he’d been hit with a red-hot arrowhead. He rose, sputtered, rose again, lost momentum, and started to fall. The lip of the wall loomed large. He wasn’t going to make it. He’d hit the wall and crack like an egg. Twenty yards. Ten. Five. Wrender descended from above, locked his hooves around Hypha’s barrel, and dragged him over the wall with inches to spare. They banked together and rose. The mountain dropped away beneath them. They plowed headfirst through the curtain of fog and out the other side. Vapor trailed like a comet’s tail behind them. The sun burned fiercely through a thin layer of morning haze. The two settled into a glide but dared not dump speed. The sounds of battle grew muffled. Hypha heard his own breath rattling in his ears and let out an incredulous laugh. “You’re heavy,” Wrender muttered. “You’re lazy.” An arrow whizzed past them. The two acolytes let out a unison cry of surprise. Wrender dropped Hypha, who fell a terrifying twenty yards before leveling out. Hypha flinched as he heard another arrow go by. He looked behind him just in time to see a third rushing towards him, its edge glinting murderously in the sunlight. He rolled at the last moment. The arrow passed beside him and fell harmlessly into the abyss below. Hypha let out a desperate sigh of relief. He turned to Wrender and flashed a wide-eyed, amazed smile. Wrender smiled back. That was when the spear hit him. It caught Wrender in the foreleg and went all the way through his torso, pinning the limb to his side. Almost immediately he started to spiral downward. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Hypha hovered in place, paralyzed, as Wrender picked up speed. A flash of light above him caught his eye. Another arrow whizzed past. He saw black shapes breaking away from the mountainside and coming his way. Hypha looked down and saw to his horror that Wrender was already a hundred yards away. If he could even catch up with him, would he still be alive? How could he pull Wrender out of a dive if he could barely fly himself? Hypha turned tail and flew away.