//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: The Mines // Story: Canterlot Gate: Tales of Equestria // by ShadowWalking18 //------------------------------// Liam stepped carefully through the mine, the only illumination of oil lamps hung from the posts. They finally entered into a large cavern filled with tables covered in ore, pick axes. Mining carts and rails lined the ground, spreading out down numerous tunnels of the mine. "How are we going to find anything in this mine. These tunnels could stretch for miles." Liam said. "I talked with Talon and he told me that most of the trouble is down in the second levels. We will head down there and then busy ourselves in an almost endless labyrinth of tunnels." Feldrock said. "Great......" Liam said in a sarcastic tone. As they made their way down the tunnels, a lone miner grabbed Liam's arm and pulled him over, "They're coming. They're coming to get us all. The demons, they're coming." Liam grabbed the griffons claw and yanked it off his arm, "Geez, calm down. What do you mean demons anyway?" The griffon just looked up at Liam with wide fearful eyes, "They're coming. They're going to kill us all." with that the griffon ran off. Liam blinked and watched the griffon go, "What was that about?" "Oh he seemed so afraid....um are we sure that there isn't anything down here?" Fluttershy asked, shaking a bit as she looked around. "Bah, the birds just paranoid. Lets keep going." Feldrock said, leading them further into the mines. Liam rubbed his arm and looked back down the tunnel the miner took. Griffons, be he or she a warrior or miner, were not an easy race to unsettle. Something was down here, but Liam still doubted it was demons. But then....what was it? "You are wondering about what has a griffon so unhinged, yes?" Liam looked to his side and saw Star Seer next to him, and not far from her was Minsc and on his shoulder Boo. Liam wasn't really sure if Minsc was alright in the head, talking to a hamster as if it could comprehend and respond to human speech. Still he found Minsc to be an alright sort, at least for as long as he knew him thus far. Star Seer on the other hand was a mystery, though Liam felt it was only because they had just met. "I..suppose. It just seems odd, I mean demons are only just old tales and if they do exist it is impossible for them to enter this world now since the rise of Celestia and Luna. Still there must be something down here." Liam said "I agree. We should then keep our eyes and ears open for any sound then." Star Seer said. Liam nodded in agreement, and looked ahead as the group began to walk down in descent. It felt odd being so far down below the earth, with only a few beams of wood keeping areas of rock from crashing down on their heads. 'Maybe I'm claustrophobic and never knew it.' Liam thought, chuckling slightly. With his luck so far, with bounty hunters and a price on his head for a reason unknown to him why not place a fear of small spaces just when he had to go into one. Finally the descent seemed to stop and the group turned around a corner, only to walk into the path of a fleeing and screaming griffon. "Ahhh help!" The griffon shouted, stopping to prevent himself from crashing into Feldrock and the others, "They're coming!... The yipping demons, they're everywhere! Save me!" Twilight walked over, "Come now, there are no such things as demons, especially not yipping ones." "Yeah demons would go Raaggggh!" Pinkie said, making a growling sound and waving her hooves as if they were claws before finally giggling at her antics. "But I-," The miner began before s chorus of excited and wild yipping poured down from a tunnel behind him. The griffon turned with wide eyes as several small forms appeared from out of the darkness, bows in their claws. "There they are! There they-" The griffon was cut off as twelve arrows shot into his body taking him in the head, chest and neck to name the more lethal targets. The figures rushed out more into better view of the light from the hanging lamp, their bows already being reloaded. Liam drew his sword as he took a good look at the creatures. They were small, at least to a human but to an average pony they would stand almost face to face. Their heads looked like a cross between a lizards and a dogs, but their bodies were covered in brown or black scales. Liam counted perhaps twenty of them in total and each armed with a bow, quiver of arrows and a small sword at their hips. "Kobolds!" Liam shouted, he knew these creatures from one of his books. "Filthy little yapping dogs!" Feldrock said, charging in with his two short swords drawn. "Feel the backhand of justice!" Minsc shouted, charging in with two maces in each hand. "Eeep!" Fluttershy went, seeing the body of the dead griffon. It was too much for her to handle and she fell backwards fainting. Rainbow Dash caught her and flew her to the back of the group for cover. "Dear Celestia." Twilight gasped as she saw the griffon fall dead. Several kobolds had let fly their arrows, and being the closest target, they flew directly for her. The arrows flew with speed and accuracy, instinct drove her to cast a shield spell but she felt sure that she could not make one big enough to block all of the arrows before they hit her. She closed her eyes, afraid to open them to see what would occur. She felt something heavy tackle her down, then searing pain in her shoulder, side and leg. Then she felt herself impact against the ground and someone groaning. Still she felt alright and she opened her eyes to see what had happened, and there laying next to her was Liam, two arrows were puncted into his back but the armor must have kept them from piercing to deep as he did not seem to be in any noticable pain. She however, was a different story. She felt pain race across ehr body and saw two arrows in her side, one at her shoulder and another just over her cutie mark. She looked over to see the rest of the arrows had fallen to the ground broken, her now full formed shield had prevented some of the deadly projectiles in its formation but obviously as she knew not all of them; she felt sure that if Liam had not forced her down and placed his own body in the way she would have had two additional arrows strike her. "Stay here, and keep that shield up." Liam said before getting up. Twilight looked up at him with wide eyes, but nodded and opened a small hole in the shield for him to exit out of. Liam ducked under the hole. The kobolds had now engaged in melee combat as Feldrock, Minsc and Applejack had now closed in on them, this allowed Liam to join in the combat without fear of anymore arrows flying at him. "You yapping varmints!" Applejack yelled, having seen Twilight hurt. She gave a kobold a savage kick that smashed it against the rock wall, a cracking sound of the creatures spine breaking with the force. Still two more came upon Applejack, only to be cut down by Liam. Liam turned and moved to block the stab from a kobold to his left, then another to the right as he kicked previous kobold in the stomach. Two more soon joined the fight and Liam found himself under an assault of blades, and each kobold he killed another was there to replace it; a common tactic for these creatures. Kobolds were not exactly a dangerous creature, their small size made them physically weaker from most creatures. Though they had scales they were not thick and were no good in stopping a blade or bludgeoning blow that had enough force behind it. They were also very cowardly and would run away from a fair fight, in fact they would never dream of attacking a lone target without at least seven others with them. Still something was indeed off with these kobolds, even after all the losses the creatures had suffered they did not flee only pressed the attack even further. Of course Liam did not focus on this at the moment and focused more on staying alive. The kobolds stabbed again, scoring several hits to his legs and once across his hip. Though his armor took most of the blows, one managed to score a blow. "Go for the eyes Boo!" Minsc shouted, as his maces caved in the skulls of two of the kobolds. The sudden death of their comrades made the other two kobolds pause, giving Liam enough time to drive his blade down the throat of the other before drawing his dagger and plunging it into the eye of the last. "Boo says that you should not let yourself be surrounded by these small creatures. Come Liam still there is battle to meet." Minsc said as he charged into three kobolds, weapons swinging wildly. Liam shook his head, but followed suit into battle. Before long all the kobolds lay dead and the cavern grew silent once more. With the fighting done the group turned to the wounded, Twilight the most. "Twilight! Oh heavens dear your hurt." Rarity said, rushing over to her friend. "Oh no! Oh dear, oh dear. We have to take those arrows out." Fluttershy gasped, rushing over with tears in her eyes. She couldn't stand seeing one of her friends hurt. "Don't touch those arrows! You might make it worse." Feldrock said as he made his way over, pushing Applejack aside when she reached for one of the shafts. "Yes, these must be treated carefully." Star Seer said walking over. Twilight looked between the two, "What-what do we do then?" She did her best to remain calm, assured that the two knew what to do. Feldrock frowned, "Fluttershy bring the medical bag over here." Fluttershy quickly brought it over and Feldrock dug around till he pulled out a object that Twilight had never seen before. "I'd rather be able to give you to a doctor, but seeing as we can't we will have to do this ourselves." Feldrock said. "What!?! Are you crazy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I know my way around wounds, this life ya have to," Feldrock said as he placed a hand on Twilights leg to hold it steady, "Twilight do ye trust me?" Twilight felt unsure and afraid of what Feldrock was going to do, but seeing no other option as her knowledge with these kinds of wounds was almost nonexistent she nodded slowly. "Then hold still." Feldrock said. Star Seer levitated a piece of leather into Twilights mouth. Twilight felt her panic rise more as she bit down on the leather strap. She had an idea of what was going to happen next. As Feldrock began to remove the arrow with the tool, she bit down harder as she screamed. When all was done, Twilight lay on the ground gasping for breath and tears running down her eyes. The arrows had been removed easily and Star Seer, and Feldrock both agreed that there would be no risk of infection as they finished binding bandages about the wounds. Still the pain had been unbearable, and as she slowly stood up and the group continued down the tunnels Twilight felt sure that this would not be last time this would occur. "Something be odd about all of this." Feldrock said as he pulled a small gem from the pocket of yet another kobold. After the first encounter, which Feldrock checked for any coin but found only a gemstone here and there which he claimed could be sold for a few pieces back in town, the group had pushed further into the mine and had run into more groups of kobolds. Though the fighting had been difficult, given the close quarters and notable sizes of the kobold groups, they had managed to avoid anything as near deadly as what had happened with Twilight. Never the less injuries had been sustained, as with Liam who finished tightening a bandage about his arm where a kobold spear managed to cut across his forearm. Liam looked over to Feldrock, "What? With the kobolds?" "Aye, We have killed many of the little buggers but the groups just kept coming. Usually kobolds would avoid us by now or run away shitting in their pants." Feldrock said as he stood up. "Indeed, they have acted in most unnatural manners." Star Seer said. Liam had to agree, the behavior went against everything the literature said. What was causing it? "How do kobolds behave usually anyway?" Twilight asked. Liam looked over to Twilight, as he did she blushed slightly and looked away. Odd. "Well," Liam started, "what little is documented about them is that they are very cowardly. Basically a cowardly kobold is usually always a long lived kobold." "What are kobolds anyway?" Rarity asked, "from what I have seen so far they are simply disgusting little beasts. Their clothes look like rags for goodness sakes." "Well," Star Seer said, "they are one of the few monsterous creatures in this land that have not been driven into...what do you call it the Everfree." "HOw is that possible? And why would princess Celestia even allow that?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, even if they are cowardly these things are dangerous." Rainbow Dash said. Feldrock chuckled, "Only if you be caught unaware or in an ambush. As for how they be living out here with us is simple, they live under the ground and that be a hard place to search in." Liam nodded, "They live in scattered tribes in mountain ranges or any place that has a cave system. It makes it hard to track them down, but they usually avoid settlements though as here sometimes a mine will end up invaded by them. Though usually the kobolds will either avoid contact with miners, or any guards sent to clear them out. Or they will pick up and find a new home." "Of course because of their habitat they do come into conflict with Diamond Dogs from time to time. The two species are almost constantly fighting each other, though Diamond Dogs tend to be the victorious ones in these disputes." Star Seer added. Twilight was just astounded, and perhaps a bit humbled. She thought she knew everything there was to know, but that had apparently been proven false. Liam himself had grown up in Candlekeep, he probably knew more then her. She swore that she would begin a whole new area of study once all this business was done. "Well what would have them act so differently then?" Applejack asked. "Well," Liam said, stroking his chin, "if a strong enough leader took control of a tribe then the kobolds would act in a manner similar to what we are seeing. But....to do that it would have to be a leader that the kobolds feared more then say us." "Oh umm...what would they be afraid of to make them act like this." Fluttershy asked, shaking a bit in fear of what the answer would be. Liam shrugged, "Dragon." "Dragon!" Fluttershy shouted in fear, jumping behind a rock to hide. Rainbow Dash sighed and facehoofed, "You had to say dragons didn't you." Pinkie Pie moved over to Fluttershy and placed a hoof around her shoulders, "Relax Fluttershy. Its not likely that a dragon is here. There would have been smoke clouding the skies like last time." "And most of the dragons are gone for the migration. So the odds of a dragon being here are even less likely." Twilight said. Fluttershy peeked out from her mane, "Oh umm...I guess thats true." She slowly got up from her hiding spot and moved back over to stand next to Liam. "Still, there must be something then. The attacks are too organized, and the groups with have meet already seemed to have been almost...patrolling the tunnels." Feldrock said. Liam frowned, if that was true then something seemed very off about this entire thing. Though he hoped that it did not mean anything for them. "Bah we waste time standing here. Lets be off, stay close. Minsc you and I will take the lead. Liam you take the rear." Feldrock said. "Come Boo. We will need your sharp eyes and nose as we help Feldrock lead." Minsc said, the hamster securing itself in a pocket on Minsc's armor. Liam nodded and took the position in the rear, in front of him was Rainbow Dash, followed by Pinkie Pie and Futtershy, then Rarity, Twilight and Star Seer. The group continued down the tunnels in this form, keeping their eyes out for movement in the shadows or noises from down the numerous tunnels. Suddenly Feldrock stopped and pressed himself against the corner of mine wall as he peered down a tunnel. Feldrock motioned for them to stop, whispering the word "Kobolds." Everyone got ready for battle, waiting for the signal to move. Liam moved up to the front with Minsc, and Feldrock. Rainbow Dash and Applejack headed up as well, several good sized rocks in their hooves which they set down on the ground. The plan would involve the two of them propelling the rocks at the kobolds to take any down from afar, then Feldrock, Minsc and Liam would move to engage in melee combat, while Star Seer, Rarity and Twilight would use their magic in anyway they could to aid in the battle. Fluttershy stood behind with Pinkie Pie. "Now." Feldrock called, and rocks flew with speed and force as Applejack and Raibow Dash kicked them up and forward towards the unsuspecting kobolds. Two kobolds armed with short bows, designed for small spaces, were the first to fall. Two well sized rocks took them across the skulls laying them low either unconcious or soon to be dead from internal bleeding. Another was hit in the stomach causing it to kneel over and drop its spear. The sudden attack caused the kobolds to panic and several dove behind a large mining cart they had been standing next to. Another kobold ontop of the cart ducked under a passing rock and began to snap orders in its barking tongue. That was the signal to move, and Liam, Minsc and Feldrock charged in. Minsc shouted a war cry as he slammed his mace down on one kobold, and slamming the other across the face of another. Feldrock spun his swords in rapid procession, his legs never stopping, cutting down enemy after enemy. Liam was yet not as skilled, but his blade pierced through the gut of what he guessed to be the leader of this group, lifting it off its feet and the mining cart. Liam swung his blade down, tearing it free of the impaled kobold and sending it flying across the tunnel screaming. The downward motion of the blade cut another kobold down the shoulder, the blade stopping halfway as it slammed into bone and snapped in half. "Oh for the love of!" Liam swore and dodged a clumsy thrust of a spear. Though it did cut across his arm, leaving a tear. 'Worthless piece of two bit, no good shoddy work metal scarp.' Liam swore at the broken half of his sword as he tossed it aside. He was getting very tired of this bad iron after losing two swords previously. He grabbed up a short blade from one of the dead kobolds and blocked another thrust of a spear. He grabbed the shaft of the spear and yanked it hard, causing the kobold to stumble forward, then aligned it right and thrust it forward to slam the butt of the spear into the kobolds face. The blow caused the kobold to release its weapon, and Liam pulled it back and shifted the position and thrust it forward again only this time the blade stabbed through skin and skull, erupting from behind the kobolds skull oozing with brain matter and gore. Liam didn't pause and moved to take a kobold from behind, and as the fighting continued he started to feel a sense in the back of his head. It was odd and yet...comforting, the fighting and blood no longer made him uneasy. In fact, it seemed to make him feel more alive as each enemy fell before his blade. But then the battle was over, the kobolds slain, and the feeling was gone. Liam was not sure if he should feel upset or glad of this. Feldrock had already begun to gather up the bodies and see if they held anything worth taking. Fluttershy gotten started and seeing who was hurt and helping them. Luckily it seemed that no one had suffered anything serious save for minor cuts that were no worse then a paper cut. With nothing else to do Liam aided Feldrock in looting the bodies, and he made a strange discovery. Clutched in the kobold that had stood atop the mining cart was a small green vial, inside a bubbling liquid. Liam looked the vial over and saw another in the pocket of the kobold and took that as well. The liquid seemed strange, but Liam felt sure it was not healing potion. 'What is this?' Liam thought, opening one of the vials and slowly tilted it over the head of the sword he took until a small drop landed on the blade. The liquid hissed as smoke rose from the metal. Acid. It was acid. Liam dropped the blade and recorcked the bottle. He didn't want any of the contents to spill out on anything, or anyone for that matter. He turned to the mining cart, and noticed that it was full of ore. Could it be? He walked over and lifted a chunk of raw ore and looked it over. The entire ore was corrodided, the acid having eaten through the ore. "Hey, come here everyone. I think I found something interesting." Liam called out. Everyone looked over and moved to join him by the cart. "What is it Liam?" Twilight asked. "Take a look at this ore." Liam said, passing a sample to each member. They all looked at him with confusion for a moment, but did as he said. "What about it? Its full of holes but I don't see what the big deal is." Rainbow Dash said. "I do," Feldrock said, "This be iron ore, and these holes ain't be natural." "Indeed. The ore seems to have been corrodide by an acidic substance." Star Seer said placing the ore back in the cart. "Boo says that this reeks of an evil hand, and Boo is rarely ever wrong on this." Minsc said. "Oh how dare they!" Pinkie shouted, "How dare they ruin a good rock. Sure rocks arn't fun but that doesn't mean you just go and be mean to them like this, my papa would be furious if he ever saw this." "I think it had something to do with this." Liam said, holding up one of the vials. "Let me guess, thats acid." Twilight said as she levitated the bottle over to inspect it. Liam nodded, "Yep. I guess we interrupted the kobolds when they were fouling up this batch of iron." Twilight frowned and set the vial on the ground, "Why would kobolds do this?" "I don't think this be just kobolds now. Kobolds ain't smart enough to do this on their own." Feldrock said. "So what," Applejack said, "Somethin is leading them then?" "Possibly." Feldrock said. "And I think," Liam said, looking down a tunnel that descended deeper into the earth, "maybe if we go a little deeper....we will find who this unknown is." Everyone looked down the tunnel as well, and then began the descent further into the darkness. The descending tunnel mazed further into the earth, eventually leaving them in darkness without any sign of mining activity. The stone walls looking more and more naturally formed and not chiseled away by tools. Thankfully, Twilight, Rarity and Star Seer used their magic to provide small orbs of light and allowed for the group to continue on without being blind. They eventually came to a tunnel that seemed out of place among the naturally forming rock. The arches of the tunnel seemed carved and were decorated with various bone charms and runes. "Boo's nose twtiches, that means that were are near a den of stinking evil." Minsc said. "No doubt. Perhaps this is where the kobolds have laired. Maybe where whoever is leading them is here as well." Liam said. "Oh...d...do we have to go in there?" Fluttershy asked. "No, we can just head back now." Feldrock said. Fluttershy looked up from her mane, "Really?" "No." Feldrock said simply. Fluttershy frowned, and shook as she looked over at the tunnel entrance. "Alright then, lets get thsi over with," Rainbow Dash said running forward, "my wings have been wanting to fly since we got in here. The sooner we get out the better." "Hold it!" Feldrock called and grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail. "Hey! Let go!" Rainbow Dash said, yanking on her tail. Feldrock yanked her back and moved a bit forward and bent down, his finger curling around something. "Behold." Feldrock said and he yanked on something. The sound of something snapping was heard and then several arrows hot from holes in the walls and into the opposite wall. The arrow trap was designed that both human or pony would die if the trap was triggered in a way other then what Feldrock did. Rainbow Dash jumped back, her eyes wide in shock, "Yikes. Umm, I guess I should have been more patient." Feldrock nodded and motioned for Liam to come over. Liam moved over and kneeled next to Feldrock. "What is it?" Liam asked. "Lesson time. Look carefully and tell me what you see." Feldrock said. Liam blinked but did as he was told and looked. At first he didn't see anything, but on closer inspection he saw the thin wire that Feldrock's finger was curled around. Then he saw another, and another not far after that one. "I see two other wires, linked to similar traps right?" Liam asked. Feldrock drew his knfe and cut all three wires, "Aye. You got some good eyes, though it took ya too long to see the wires. Still ye at least saw them." Liam took that as a compliment, at least he thought he should. Liam nodded and he and Feldrock stood up and motioned for the others to follow. Everyone followed after, save for Fluttershy who had to be pushed in by Applejack and Rainbow Dash together. Reaching the end of the tunnel, the group stepped out into a large underground cavern. A wide and deep pool of water surrounded a small isle with a large stone in the center, a small stretch of land acting as a bridge between the two. "Wow. This is amazing." Twilight said, looking around. "How far down do ya reckon we are?" Applejack asked. "Hard to say, perhaps a few hundred feet. Maybe more." Feldrock said. "Whats that Boo?" Minsc said as he tilted his head slightly to listen to the squeaks of the little hamster Boo. Minsc nodded then looked to everyone, "Boo says that he smells a stench of evil on the isle. Cover your noses, we will leave no stone unturned." With that Minsc marched across the bridge and towards a large chiseled entrance in the stone structure. Star Seer sighed and ran to catch up with the berserker warrior, everyone else following. Entering into through the crack, the group stood in a small cave, the tunnel they walked through splitting two ways. One of these ways showed the signs of light not of their own and so it was this path they took. The path took them to a wide room filled with a number of glowing magical orbs of light, suspended above the stalagmites. A long and luxerious carpet lay on the ground, and in the end of the room was a large bed with a large chest at the front of it. But the most shocking aspect was the large, beat like man that stood before them. Clad in dark chain and wielding a savage looking mace in one hand and a round shield in the other, the man was a fearsome sight. Yet something was off about him, his skin was an unusual pale hue of blue, his eyes were gold instead of white with the iris being red. "Chaos spawn." Star Seer said low, earning shocked looks from everyone. Records of Chaos spawn were almost nonexistent now, but what remained spoke of those who made a soul binding pact with Discord. It was unknown what was gained from such a union, other then strange and unnatural body changes as with the creature before them, but what is known is that they were Discord's agents to aid in his spread of chaos. Originally they had all been slain by Celestia and Luna long ago, though it seemed they came back when he escaped his prison. "Tazor must have dispatched you, and my traitorous kobolds let you pass, didn't they?" The chaos spawn spoke, "I knew I could not trust them! Armed as such you have obviously been sent to kill me! By Discord, not a measure of ore leaves this mine unspoiled and I am still to be executed?! I'll not lose my head over this!" Feldrock's eyes widened, and his grip on his blade tightened about his sword. Liam saw something gleam dangerously in his eyes. Liam didn't know what it was, but he felt sure that it would be unwise to provoke Feldrock now. "No one sent us, but thy head is no less in danger. Tell me where Tazok is and I might let you live!" Feldrock shouted, drawing his blades. The chaos spawn blinked, "Tazor did not send thee? Then thou art dead! Help, my minions, HEEELLLPPP!" The sound of yapping echoed down the other tunnel, and the falling of dozens of small feet against the stone ground could be heard. Minsc turned as he drew his maces to cover the rear. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Star Seer and Rarity moved to stand in the middle while Applejack and Rainbow Dash joined Minsc. Feldrock and Liam charged the chaos spawn, who blocked their attacks with his shield before swinging his mace across. He caught Feldrock across the chin and sent him staggering to the side, and then Liam in the side. The force of the blow sent him flying off his feet, and he felt something in his chest crack. "AAGGGH!" Liam screamed, wrapping an around around his chest. He felt sure that a rib or two had broken and he tried to ease his breathing to avoid piercing a lung. However he had no time to rest as the chaos spawn charged him, bringing his mace down to smash into Liam's head. Liam dove to the side, avoiding the strike, but was bull rushed and felt the chaos spawn's shield slam into him. He staggered back till he was pressed against the wall. He felt new pain in his chest now, and was afraid that he had pierced a lung, but the now pumping adrenaline was making it difficult to tell for sure as it numbed the pain and forced his body to act in order to preserve itself. The mace came down again, but was blocked by Feldrock, who brought his second blade up under the first and pushed up with all his might. The chaos spawn's mace went up and it was forced to step back and bring its shield up to avoid having its guts spilled by Feldrock as he brought a blade across to strike. Liam moved into the attack, the two of them pushing their enemy back. Yet neither could they land a hit, either because he dodged to swiftly or his shield prevent a hit from landing. The chaos spawn then thrust out his mace and a spiral of wild magical energy shot from the head of the mace and blasted into Liam and Feldrock. The two cried in pain as they were knocked of their feet and their weapons fell from their hands. "Liam! Feldrock!" Twilight shouted, looking over from the battle she and the others were engaged with the kobolds. It seemed like Liam and Feldrock could deal with the single chaos spawn while they dealt with the almost endless mass of kobolds that were even now forcing Minsc back as he swung to deflect spear thrusts or to smack a kobold across the head. Star Seer and Rarity both looked exhausted from the endless amounts of magical attacks they were using, no unicorn no matter how good at magic was meant to keep up such a flow for long. Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been forced to fight defensively, knocking rocks into the mass. But as she saw Liam and Feldrock fall back, the chaotic magic's dissipating now, she turned and unleashed a blast of energy that blew the chaos spawn into the stone wall, the force leaving an impression of his body on the stone. However after all the casting she had done already, she fell onto her stomach gasping for air. Still she felt sure that had killed the spawn. "Ugh, that was a good try." Or maybe it hadn't. Twilight looked up and saw the chaos spawn remove itself from the wall. It's shield was crushed and ruined, and its arm had bits of chain hanging off or falling off, but it still was alive and still had a firm grip on its mace. "Enough of this now. I will kill these fools then I shall kill the rest of you. May the lord Discord greet you in the underworld." The chaos spawn said as it approached Liam first. "Gah, you blasted pig!" Feldrock snarled, struggling to get to his feet. His legs wobbled with uncertain strength as he tried to get up and pick up his blade to continue his attack. The chaos spawn stopped and brought his mace up to finish him off. The mace came down, Feldrock's head its target, and was stopped as it collided with Liam's sword. The chaos spawn turned its head to see Liam, standing on shaking legs and seemed to be having trouble breathing, a sword in both of hands. The effort to stop the bludgeoning stroke must have taken any bit of strength he had left. The chaos spawn snarled and elbowed Liam across the face as he turned and pushed the attack on him. Liam moved sluggishly, his shoulder was struck and he staggered back. The chaos spawn pushed forward, grabbing Liam by the throat and smashed his head against his. Liam felt his head spin from the impact, his free hand hung by his side and felt something in his pack. Reaching in as he was headbutted again, Liam saw that it was the other vial of acid. Whatever force had made him keep it must have been working in his favor, because as the chaos spawn pulled his head back to slam his into Liam's skull once more Liam lifted his hand up and smashed the vial into the spawns face as it came forward. The impact of the blow shattered the glass and sprayed the acid about, mostly onto the spawns face. "RRRRAGGGGGHHHH!" The spawn shouted in agony, acid burning away flesh, muscle and cartilage. His grip lossened on Liam's neck as he staggered back to bring his hands to his face, trying to claw away the burning liquid. Liam gasped for air and dove into the spawn, his knife coming out and stabbing into an unprotected area near the kidney where the chains had begun to fall out after Twilight's attack. The knife struck once, then thrice, and then numerous times after that before being twisted and dragged as far as it could. Liam pulled the blade out and fell back onto his rear. The chaos spawn staggered, blood dripping from its wound. It still screamed as acid burned its face, but the sounds grew less and less until finally it fell back onto the ground dead and a pool of blood beneath it. Seeing their leader slain, the kobolds quickly turned tail and ran. They practically piled and trampled over each other to be away from the dangerous monster that could kill the fearsome chaos spawn. With the battle over, everyone could at last focus on other important matters. "Liam! Feldrock!" Fluttershy shouted in fear, she flew as fast as she could and began to check Liam first. Liam felt the world going black, and he felt that he was actually going to die. Then he felt it once more, that feeling of power that hung just beyond his reach...he just had to.....there. He grasped the feeling of power and once more felt the world become clear, and his pain seemed almost distant and unnecessary. He stood up, even as he felt Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie trying to force him to stay still. Liam could hear them, but right now it just wasn't registering. He was not going to die like this, and so staggering past the shocked forms of the others he stood beside the horde of dead kobolds and looked about. There, among the dead he spotted a lone kobold, struggling to get to its feet. It must have been left behind and trampled to near death by its friends, but it was still alive. Without feeling certain of how or why he knew what to do next, but knowing that he had done this before back in Nashkel, Liam held his hand out and black tendrils formed from his palm and finger tips and stabbed into the kobold. The creature screamed for a minute, but then went still and silent. As it died, Liam felt a surge of life and rejuvenation fill his body. He felt his bones snapping back into proper placement and other internal repairs, it hurt but the pain was passing until he felt fresh as a daisy. Liam took deep, easy breathes, as the act now no longer hurt. The feeling of power faded and slipped from his grasp, Liam didn't care, and as the power left he felt his whole body be hit with a wave of exhaustion. He turned to look over at everyone, all of them with wide eyes with unreadable mixtures of emotions. Finally exhaustion took its toll, and Liam fell to the ground and the world went black.