Chapter 69: Quest’s End

She could not breathe.

Lexi stood, completely frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch in horror as her first follower, her best friend, her lover was quite literally torn to pieces before her eyes. Gretel’s death — for there was not even the most remote possibility that the mage could have survived being bitten and ripped in half — locked the paladin into a paralytic torpor, every muscle in her body fixed solidly in place as her mind struggled to wrap itself around the shape of this awful new reality.

…Gretel is dead…

Like a ping pong ball, the collection of words bounced around inside of Lexi’s mind. However, in her state of extreme shock, the words bore no meaning. They were null pointers, referencing no semantically valid objects within her consciousness. The paladin’s vision began to fade, growing dim and black around the edges, as she still did not draw a single breath. A system alert popped into her now hazy peripheral, but the content did not penetrate through the paralysis to reach Lexi’s understanding.

You’ve Lost Blood!

-1 HP (12/45)

A shrill feminine scream penetrated faintly into the fog threatening to completely overwhelm Lexi. At first she could not place it. It could not be Gretel, because she…was dead. So, what could it be? Did it even matter? Did anything matter now?

It was only when Lexi was physically jostled by a small blurry figure that her body inadvertently gasped for a breath. Vivid color and animated motion bloomed back into her field of vision, and her ears were filled with the roaring cacophony of sounds resulting from the continued battle that raged all around Lexi. She watched mutely as Danica, still shrieking madly, fired off two more arrows at the tentacled monstrosity. Both shots found their marks easily, feathered shafts thudding hard into the creature’s pendulous left breast, to penetrate deep into its chest cavity.

“Gruahhh!” the creature bellowed, the overwhelming force of which actually shook Lexi, the sound waves produced by the enormous creature vibrating sensation back into her body, bringing her mind more fully into awareness of the situation still developing around her. The constant and continued blood loss was not helping things either. For every inch of conscious volition that crept back into the paladin, a near equal amount of vitality literally flowed out in a red river of blood from the gaping and shredded ruin of her right shoulder.

You’ve Lost Blood!

-1 HP (11/45)

“Kyaaa!” came a deep voiced shout from just beside Lexi, shocking her almost fully back into herself.

Samantha’s huge form, bronze muscles rippling with exertion, flew past Lexi, as the monk quickly closed the gap between herself and the creature. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion created by Danica’s expertly placed shots, Samantha leaped in, delivering a brutal flying elbow directly to the side of the engorged beast’s head. So powerful was Samantha’s elbow, that Lexi heard the skull of the monster actually crack from the blow. This finally managed to stir something within the paladin. Although the only thing she really wanted to do in that moment was to lay back and join her lover in the embrace of death that was wrapping its arms around her more steadily with every spurt of lost blood from her wound, Lexi staggered to her feet.

“Fuck what I want,” she said to herself, fury and rage slowly filling the void that had been her mind. “Gretel wanted us — wanted me — to live. If we don’t finish this, then she fucking died for nothing.”

You’ve Lost Blood!

-1 HP (10/45)

And I’m running out of time!

Sublimating the pain and debilitating weakness that practically defined her current existence, Lexi struggled to her feet. Off balance from both the massive blood loss — to say nothing of the missing arm — she staggered, just barely able to keep from toppling back down at first. The paladin closed her eyes, took a single deep breath, and found her center. Channeling every ounce of strength remaining within her wrecked body, Lexi sprinted forward towards the engorged monstrosity that had murdered Gretel.

“Die, you murdering bitch!” the paladin yelled, so fiercely that her throat was almost instantly hoarse and raw.

If the creature heard Lexi, it made no indication. Letting the lower half of Gretel’s body fall to the floor, it held her severed torso above its head, mouth open wide to drink the rain of blood and offal pouring out of the dead mage’s eviscerated guts. So occupied, Lexi, even in her injured state, was able to reach the hilt of her sword unimpeded. The paladin wrapped her remaining hand around the hilt and twisted her body in a full three-hundred and sixty degree circle. Pulling the blade free from its place lodged in the gigantic goblin’s stomach, she sent it flying in a huge diagonal arc, only to have the blade cut deep into the creature’s neck — embedding itself in the spine.

Your Attack Hit!

-15 HP (9/115)

“Gluarg!” the engorged goblin gurgled, as enormous volumes of blood poured both from its mouth and the now gaping wound in the side of its neck.

You’ve Lost Blood!

-1 HP (9/45)

It dropped the upper half of Gretel’s body to the ground with a sickening squishing sound that snapped whatever self-control Lexi might have had remaining. Letting go of her sword entirely, Lexi dove forward, colliding with the monster’s beach ball-sized head. The paladin clenched her steel-shod fist, and punched out straight into the pupil of its enormous eye. Her gauntlet easily penetrated the thin cornea, plunging her fist deep into the vitreous fluid that filled the nearly foot-wide eye’s cavity. Further yet, the enraged paladin’s cold steel hand dove, punching out the back eyeball — burying her fist deep into the creature’s brain, while her own arm sank down into the wreck of its eye socket far past the elbow.

This was not enough for Lexi.

Sobbing and screaming hysterically, she yanked her fist out of the dying creature’s eye, spewing a mixture of bright red blood and gooey gray brain matter all over herself. And, as the creature fell back, the enraged paladin crouched atop the giant green head, slamming her fist into the destroyed socket, churning the goblin monstrosity’s brain into a stew of gore. All sense left Lexi. She cried uncontrollably, screaming out the wordless pain that gripped her soul as she pummeled the creature far past the brink of death. It was only when a pair of enormously strong bronze hands gripped her about the waist and pulled her bodily from atop the gory corpse that the red haze began to clear from Lexi’s sensorium.

Your Attacks Hit!

-5 HP (4/115)

-6 HP (0/115)

-4 HP (0/115)

-5 HP (0/115)

Samantha had tackled Lexi just in the nick of time.

When the magically transformed goblin fell dead, the high priestess’s trance finally broke. The withered loli’s ancient eyes opened, and were filled with nothing but the purest hate. Lexi, in her all consuming rage, noticed none of this. So, when the priestess raised her wrinkled claw-like hand in Lexi’s direction, Samantha exploded into motion, tackling the paladin right before a crackling bolt of black lightning sizzled into the face of the dead giant atop which Lexi had been crouched only a split-second before. The blood-red haze finally clearing from her in full, a single word spelled out in the system subtitles at the bottom of Lexi’s field of vision.

“Die!” the green hag croaked at the two adventurers in the goblin tongue, directing her hand towards them while black currents of magical electricity coursed and rippled over her arm.

It was only thanks to the seemingly miraculous intercession of a feathered arrow shaft burying itself deep within the ancient loli’s chest, courtesy of Danica, that Lexi and Samantha were spared the full force of the high priestess’ wrath. Samantha leaped to her feet, the face beneath her white bangs a mask of cold fury. Before the goblin priestess could begin to cast another vile spell, the monk gripped the small withered loli’s head between her two massive hands. Lifting her up off the ground, the goblin’s feet kicking wildly, Samantha squeezed her palms together. Her enormous bronze biceps bulged, corded muscles rippled and flexed throughout her back.

Lexi heard an ominous creaking sound which was immediately accompanied by an inarticulate shriek from the goblin. With a gut-churning splattering sound, the high priestess’ head burst between Samantha’s palms, crushed like an overripe melon. Samantha cast the lump of green and red gore to the ground, barely sparing the corpse a contemptuous glance before turning her full attention back to Lexi — who, though living, was fading fast.

You’ve Lost Blood!

-1 HP (8/45)

“Danica!” the monk shouted, snapping the elf out of the morbid trance as her eyes locked on the puddle of gore Samantha’s hands had just produced. “If we don’t stop this bleeding now, Lexi’s going to die too. My magic is completely spent though. Is there anything you can do?”

The elf nodded quickly, kneeling down beside Lexi, the light already slipping from the paladin’s eyes. As her eyes roamed down to see the horrendous wound which Lexi had been dealt at the hands of the tentacle monster, Danica felt vomit rise quickly in her throat. The ranger was only just able to clamp a hand firmly over her mouth, containing the retching enough to that she could swallow it back down. The wound looked so incredibly painful that Danica could not even begin to think about touching it directly. Moreover, no healing art that she possessed could heal something of this magnitude. The ranger’s prayers might stop the bleeding long enough to save Lexi’s life, but the arm was gone for good.

Placing her small delicate hands as close to Lexi’s wreck of a shoulder as she dared, Danica closed her eyes and let the prayer to the Earth Mother flow through her and into the grievously injured paladin. Tendrils of glowing white light unfurled from the ranger’s hands, wrapping themselves tenderly around Lexi’s shoulder, knitting the ripped arteries and shredded flaps of skin and muscle back together. By the time the elf opened her eyes and the luminous tendrils of the Earth Mother’s healing warmth had retreated, the gory remains of what used to be an arm had been replaced by a smooth patch of shiny scar tissue.

You’ve Been Healed!

+5 HP (13/45)

“You back with us?” Danica asked tentatively, as Lexi’s eyes fluttered open slowly.

“I…I th-think s-so,” Lexi stuttered weakly. Tears flowed freely from the paladin’s eyes, not from any physical pain, but from the compounded trauma of the day’s loss, washing over her again as the light of consciousness returned to her. Her missing arm, devastating as such a horrendous disfigurement could be, was the least of her concerns. At the front of her mind was the gaping hole in her life left by her murdered friend. It was a hole shaped exactly like Gretel Schultz — the pink haired mage whom Lexi had saved on her first day in this new world, and whose death had brought an end to the world’s wonder and joy.

Her small body wracked with tears of her own, Danica wrapped Lexi in a fierce hug as soon as the paladin was able to sit up. Wordlessly, her large body quivering with silent misery, Samantha wrapped her thick arms around the pair, holding them tight against her broad chest — holding the survivors together.

“The stone,” Samantha said in low, almost hushed, tones after a few minutes had passed. “We have to finish this. Otherwise…what did Gretel die for?”

Lexi sniffled, her face streaked with tears, eyes bloodshot. The paladin gave Samantha a stiff nod, resolve filling her face, imbuing it once more with at least a shadow of the strength she had previously exuded as the party’s leader. “You’re right. Not that I have any idea how the fuck we’re going to get back after this. But, if I’m going to die today, it had fucking better be with that stone in my goddamned hand.”

“Together!” Danica cut in sharply. Her almond eyes blazed with determination, long ears flattened out to the sides with apparent resolve. “We finish this — and whatever comes after — together.”

“All of us together,” Samantha added. And, before Lexi could puzzle out the meaning behind this, the monk stood up and walked over to where Gretel lay. With a tenderness seemingly incongruous with the monk’s hugely muscled physique, Samantha carefully wrapped the mage’s body up in her cloak, folding the edges around her remains so perfectly that the only thing which was — in the end — visible was Gretel’s beautiful face.

With what felt like a tremendous effort, both physical and emotional, Lexi rose unsteadily to her feet. The three adventurers picked their way across the gore covered battlefield that the chamber had become, Lexi leaning heavily on Danica’s small shoulder and Samantha solemnly carrying the cloak containing Gretel’s remains. As the party, united at the end of things, reached the puddle of carnage that was the high priestess, Danica and Samantha each put a hand on Lexi’s shoulder’s. Taking a deep breath, Lexi knelt down, and wrapped her hand around the Starseed.

As soon as Lexi’s fingers touched the stone, pulsing warmth filled the paladin, emanating from the stone. Its glow, which had been soft up until now, flared so brilliantly that it might have been a true star. The entire room was engulfed in blazing starlight, so bright that each of the adventurers’ fields of vision were reduced to naught but that plane of intense illumination. However, when the light faded, just moments later, Lexi gasped with shock. The ruined tower in which they had just stood was gone. In its place was the five-sided chamber in which this very quest had been given to her party.

They were back at Xoth’s Temple in Astyanax.