23 To the Rescue

Lyra watched Vo grab his longsword in its scabbard.

"How?" He couldn't hide his surprise, pleasantly impressed.

"Oh, it was just lying around some traitor's feet in an antechamber. Since he's dead, I didn't think he had a need for it."

"Morley." Vo sighed and unsheathed the dark, refined iron blade to activate it with his magic.

"Shane?"

"Well that was close. Any longer, I'd just be a figment of your imagination. But it's good to be back in my snug little blade again."

"We'll get you back to your body one day. I promise."

"No rush. You have more important matters."

"First, let's save the people of Rogue from the empire."

"Right at you."

"So you managed to infiltrate a highly toxic lagnea mine, swarming with pesky dark mages, kill a traitor and grab Vo's sword?" Zen folded his arms over his chest, looking highly doubtful. "On your own?"

"What can I say? I'm just that good." Lyra smugly boasted her ego. "Meanwhile, you've been taking a nap in a sauna."

"Sauna?! Why you red haired wild woman! We were working at a very clever angle to disrupt those nox mortre's crass array." Zen pouted and puffed out his chest. He groaned when he was topless again. "You could've at least brought our armor!"

He let out an hmph when his tunic and belts were tossed at his face.

"You're welcome."

"Well, I guess this gives more strength to your story."

Lyndal chuckled. She had been quietly watching the exchanges and enjoyed the bickering between Zen and Lyra. "The truth, when the magic here went awry, a lot of the guards somehow became piles of dust. Only a few mages and Morley were about as they were outside the array's range."

"What about the enthralled people?" Vo asked, not hiding his concern as he tied off his belt around his waist and his sword snuggly sheathed at his hip.

"They're still in the production line." Lyndal fretted.

"Then we need to get them out and fast. The magic is weak at the moment: it's the best time to break the enthrallment and shut down this place."

"Second that." Lyra rechecked her greatsword then slapped it to her back.

When the men were ready, they covered their noses and mouths, and snuck out of the array chamber and crept carefully down the corridor.

The way dipped toward the lower floors, at the end of the corridor a pair of mages were making their way up.

They saw them approaching and began to raise the alarm.

"I got this." Zen called upon his ice magic to cast ice daggers at the mages, stopping their alarm raising.

He cast sheets of ice to the stone so he slid and surfed the ice to reach the mages in rapid time. With his staff primed, he twirled it to knock the mages on their ass. One regained their stance and fought back. Parry. Block. Strike. Swift blows. Glancing strikes. Their staves sparked as they clashed.

"I'm a loki, fool!" Zen cast a spell that caused the air to freeze around them. He twirled his staff so the end cast ice rings, which wrapped around the mage. With another spell, the mage was snapped frozen.

"Shatter." He coolly snapped his fingers to make the mage explode into tiny ice particles and blow away.

They didn't wait for reinforcements. Dashing through the corridors to where the lagnea stench was most potent.

More mage guards rushed into the corridor.

"My turn." Lyra cooly lunged at three mages, reflecting their fireball attacks on the flat of her greatsword so they struck the mages instead.

She ducked, side stepped and slashed down the enemy feeling the boost of strength and speed flowing into her.

A quick glance back saw Vo cast a support spell from his sword.

Lyndal followed through with dash-strikes with her daggers to slash throats and make deadly upclose critical attacks.

Zen followed through with ice blasts to make the enemy shatter into particles.

They kept pushing ahead, attacking and plowing their way through a weakened enemy. Without the array in effect, the magic became unreliable and the mages spells were weak. It gave options for Vo and his party to exploit.

"Vo, stab me into the distiller pipe line near the joint to the tank. I can drain the processed lagnea and use it for your magic strength."

"Shane..."

"Just do it. I know what I'm doing."

Vo sighed and nodded. There was no reasoning with Shane when he was fixated stubbornly on an action.

He came up to Zen who had stepped back after blocking a blow. "Cover me while Shane and I disrupt the pipeline."

"Got it Boss." Zen twirled his staff to cast lightning and ice combination strikes to the attacking mages.

He switched to defense, casting ice mist barrier bubbles around the enthralled people as Lyndal and Lyra fought the front attacks.

One of the mages appeared on the ledge above and began chanting a crowd control spell to enrage the enthralled workers, but the bubble barriers were blocking the commands.

"I hope you do whatever soon. My area of magic is a drain on my perkiness!" Zen shouted, feeling the pressure from the countering magic to make him sweat and his hands clammy around his staff.

Vo sprinted through the people, cutting down mages out of his way. He searched for the pipeline and found it attached to a t-shaped join near the glass-metal tank.

"One stab to go!" Vo twirled Shane with one hand so it was in an optimal position. With all his might he stabbed down on the critical part of the pipeline.

Shane glowed and swelled with power as the flowing, processed lagnea liquid was being absorbed into the sword. Bursts of power waves were released to throw the people back.

"Zen's magic... cast now... enthrall..." Shane's voice resounded in Vo's mind as bits.

"Zen cast an area ice mist spell now! Give it all you've got!" Vo shouted across the rising din of thrumming and droning.

Zen focused on his staff, pouring his magic for one cast. He timed the spell's release with a power wave blast, so the magic carried across the entire area.

Everyone was thrown back. The mages struggled to their feet and attempted to control the enthralled, but failed again.

The people had stopped moving, shaking their heads with confusion.

"What am I doing here?" a woman whispered.

Shane released another power blast with the intention to restore vitality and clarity.

"Vo, deal with those mages. The enthralled are released."

Vo gave Zen and Lyra a hand gesture to kill the mages.

Lyra laughed and reasserted her grip to her greatsword. "Best order!" 

There were seven mages left: all trying to escape, but they were blocked by an attack.

"Trying to run? Think again!" Zen cried out and cast a spell of ice daggers, releasing a volley to strike the mages down.

They were able to kill all by one on the ledge, who escaped with a Black Crow Eye potion and spell.

"Damn it! He got away." Lyra cursed.

But, for now, the people were freed.

"Shane. Let's shut down this operation for good."

Lyndal caught on to Vo's intention and began to gather all the people toward the exit.

Zen and Lyra helped with her efforts. 

When Vo saw that the production chamber was cleared, he grabbed Shane, pulling out the sword.

With swift, precise slashes, he severed the pipe and flow of lagnea. He stabbed Shane into the ground, to absorb the overflow and spillage. 

Then with steel daggers that were strapped to his thighs, he located the tank's critical stop points that would ensure a tank drain.

"Have Zen cast an ice mist as the lagnea drains out to solidify and evaporate it." Shane advised.

Vo nodded and shouted the command to Zen.

"One mist to go." Zen twirled his staff, charging up his power.

Vo threw the daggers, lodging them at the points. The pipes hissed and sprayed lagnea as it snaked about from the released pressure.

Zen cast his ice magic around the ends to control the spillage. The Lagnea swiftly flowed out of the tank. He cast an ice mist to solidify the liquid.

"I suggest we get higher ground." He shouted.

Vo grabbed Shane and sprinted with Zen up the corridor to the upper ledge.

The volatile lagnea glowed in its solid form. Corrupted by the raw potent energies of surrounding reglear and unrefined lagnea, the floor ignited into flames. The fire swiftly grew into a raging inferno.

Zen cast an ice barrier to block the impacts from reaching them.

"Well..." Zen collapsed to the ground, feeling his body aching all over.

The barriers only lasted so long for them to create a distance. The rock walls tremored and shook around them.

"Not out of it yet." Vo helped him up.

"Seriously. All this running..." Zen whined as Lyra kicked his backside into a run.

They and Lyndal led everyone into a sprint up collapsing corridors.

Some people found the pace hard: panting for breath and slowing down. Others used their strength to keep them up and running.

It was a desperate run from the coming explosion, fueled by the corridor's raw lagnea. The heat was stifling, hampering movements. But no one wanted to be caught in the fire. So everyone pushed past their limits to survive.

Vo saw a woman fall and scooped her up into his arms. She held on to him as he sprinted with added focus.

Hope appeared before them, when they reached the vast upper chambers and narrow bridge.

"Almost there. Keep running!" Lyra shouted out.

Everyone pushed their sprints harder across the bridge when they felt the hot winds blowing toward their backs.

The oncoming explosion kept up momentum from the raw lagnea along the way. The fires and toxic stench burned through the corridor to reach the stone bridge. The fire's chaotic impact with the drop in temperature and air elements, caused a sonic boom upon the stone bridge, making it crack, crumble and fall behind them.

"DON'T STOP." Vo shouted, taking the rear to make sure no one was left behind.

Everyone entered the mine cart platform area. Only Vo and the woman were still on the crumbling stone bridge.

Hearts raced as everyone watched Vo barely keeping ahead of the collapse with bated breath.

Vo apologized as he threw the woman to safety. She was caught by Lyra and placed on safe ground. 

 Time seemed to crawl as they watched his sprints fail to touch solid ground with the bridge completely collapsed.

Vo had taken a giant leap as the bridge fell beneath him. The formless void increased across his divide. He was short of a clean landing.

He grabbed Lyndal's hand before he fell too far.

Zen helped Lyndal pull him up. Grunting and feeling the pressure to their heads, as they used all their might to lug him up and over.

"Well, I guess that worked out well." Vo huffed for breath as he laid on his back.

Lyndal chuckled, huffing as she sat back on her knees. "I think so too."

Lyra was checking on the others and making sure they were fit for a return to the surface. "Looks like no one was left behind."

"That's what I like to hear." Vo gave her a thumbs up.

"And we have one destroyed lagnea plant. I call that a win." Lyndal helped Vo stand.

"Let's make sure everyone gets to the surface first, then figure out what's next." Vo impassively commented.

"The dry lake cave." Lyra nodded.

When everyone was ready, Vo led them to the way out.