Curselock

Chapter 81: Berserker

The group ran through the ice spires, the remnants of Gelo’s mother’s battle. Staying some distance away from each other, except for Jude pulling Glenny along, they threw caution to the wind and simply ran.

Rushing through the ground-ice like it was nothing more than fog or mist, the worm traced the group’s echoing footsteps. It dug deeper and deeper before shifting its trajectory straight up. Only the shake of the ground signaled the imminent attack, a localized earthquake directly around its target.

Shoving Glenny to safety, Jude set his wrists high and clear. He waited, like an executioner listening for a death sentence. The worm breached the ice with a resonating gnaw, cracking the top layer like a hammer to a cobblestone path. Shrapnel blasted out, cutting into Jude’s flexing form.

Subconsciously, the berserker had taken a single step back, a fearful hazard in not wanting to become the monster’s meal. But as the worm continued through the ice and into the air, Jude finally attacked. He stepped into the blow, using his full strength and the transformative power of pain and rage to cleave into he beast.

As he did, Jude activated two Legacy abilities. The first was his bread and butter attack, Decimating Strike. It looked unassuming to the untrained eye, simply an arcing overhand swing. But, through the Lord of the Berserker, the attack was augmented into something more. The ability had evolved once, just like Jude himself, causing a bonus effect.

Decimating Strike now bypassed a portion of the target’s armor, effectively making the worm’s hardened scales nothing more than a layer of protective tin. Jude’s axe cut into the monster, ripping a mighty gash into its upper hide.

The second ability was a crescent wave of pure rage. It unleashed from his axe with a silent scream, sailing the short distance and into the monster. The attack tore into the worm, probing the best course of action. Obviously Decimating Strike was the way to go.

Green blood fell from the worm’s wound as it continued into the air. Like a sudden downpour, the blood splashed onto the snow and ice, freezing over nearly instantly. Jude, usually one to cover himself in his enemy’s blood , dodged back.

Specific varieties of worms had acid for blood, this, evidently, was not the case for the ice worm. Jude let his finding be known, “Non-acid!” he yelled, his eyes suddenly going wide.

Two poles of red brimming power stabbed out and up, catching the monster in its feathered tail as it fully exited the ice. Glenny, not invisible and snarling with pain, activated his own Legacy ability, creating an eruption of green blood and gore.

“Glenny!” Jude yelled, sprinting across the broken ice and pulling his dizzy friend along.

They ran, the worm crashing down behind them. It thrashed as it fell, the feathers under its scales giving it some sort of control over its massively long body. That didn’t mean it was able to dodge the maze of ice spires that twisted over the battlefield.

Soon the worm landed, along with it four pillars of ice. The worm used the momentum, easily slipping back through into the underground via the silver magic its main mandible created. The ice, however, landed with the grace of a lead weight, cracking the ground like heavy hail against a window.

The worm, however, was slow to fully escape the fallout of the broken pillars. Two thirds down its extended body, a massive chunk of ice slammed into it, easily flattening it with a deathly crunch. Like a roach partially stomped by a boot, the worm struggled to move.

The tearing sound was outshined by the worm’s guttural scream. No longer was there a gnawing, instead it was a piercing cry of agony and rage. The ground shifted with its anger, along with it a bright silver light. Magic blazed through the underlayers of ice, eclipsing the fluffy snow like rays of light through the clouds.

Jude and Glenny didn’t look back at the light show. They ran, their ears ringing with the worm’s horrid song. Glenny had it the worst, the noise brought tears to his eyes as the pain bled directly into his skull. He went wobbly, only his friend’s arm holding him when he otherwise would have fallen.

Jude leaned into his friend, practically carrying Glenny as they ran. The ground was shaking again, a fleeting shake. It was diving through the ice, he knew, the calm before the storm. Like a switch had been flipped, the fading tremors suddenly started to increase. Jude cursed and set Glenny down.

The rogue looked at the berserker with a sudden guilt. Despite the pain, despite the wooziness, Glenny knew what his friend was going to do.

Bait, Jude was going to be bait.

Making as much noise as he could, Jude stomped across the snow and ice, running toward the largest cluster of ice pillars. The tremors followed, and with a look over his shoulder, he could see Glenny frozen in terror.

Frozen is good, Jude noted as blinding rays of silver light encircled him.

Distantly he heard a high pitched voice yell for him, knowing the cry originated from Gelo. He didn’t have time to contemplate the bear cub’s words. He didn’t have time to contemplate anything really. There was only time for action, for survival, for instinct.

The tremor pushed through the ice, the worm right behind it.

For the last few months, since his Dream Ceremony, really, Jude had listened to his mom’s initial advice. She had told him not to let the rage in, that the Legacy of the Berserker would only steer him toward ill-advised choices and more pain that he could handle. Later in life he’d be able to invoke the rage of the berserker, later in life his mom would teach him the secrets of their shared Legacy.

He had already felt the uncontrolled thoughts before. He had already enraged to the point his friends were in danger. He had already lived the life of an adventurer worthy of their Legacy, even if he was really still a child. No one, not even his cautious dad, would have thought he’d be so in tune with the Legacy of the Berserker.

If there was ever any doubt, his mom would have taken a sabbatical. She would have stayed with Jude until he could trust his instincts. She would have stayed until he was safe, until he was able to stand beside her, rage coursing through his veins and his thoughts still present in his mind.

It was Jude’s choice, the day after his Dream Ceremony, for his mom and dad to go back to their job as Royal Inquisitors. He had laughed off their worry, not fully grasping what they were even worried about. They trusted Jude, like he did them, and accepted his choice.

Oh how wrong he was.

For only an instant, one moment of fleeting hysteria, Jude’s Legacy instincts took over. He kicked off of the ground, shattering the top foot of ice with nothing more than a sidestep. He launched across the snow field, through the silver light and out of harm's way.

He didn’t catch himself, he couldn’t, not really. The speed, the force from his kickoff, sent him spiraling off. He skidded across the ice and snow, bouncing like an irregular boulder skipping down a mountain. Bounce after bounce Jude traveled farther and farther away, eventually reaching the edge of the ice pillars.

He slowed to a dead stop, only the white of the snow there to cushion his landing. He didn’t get up, he didn’t move. Jude laid there with his eyes closed unconscious and his body reeling from the weight of his kick.

A dream came to him, one of his mom and dad. One from a few years ago, specifically one of the first times he was presented with a choice. His dad’s Legacy, his mom’s, or the third option of something new to the family. His grandfather on his dad’s side was a Legacy of the Scout. That’d be cool, he thought at the time, secretly knowing that he’d never choose something so basic.

Jude had grown up on tales of valiant knights and grand heroics. He had heard stories of his parents, he had lived through a few of them. His dad, a Legacy of the Warrior, retold the stories of himself and his wife. He would overdo and exaggerate specific aspects of the events, specifically those surrounding Jude’s mom.

A lovestruck husband, telling his son just how awesome his mom was. That was what Jude chased – the after image, the legacy of being strong. Of being someone who was looked up to. Of being the tale of someone else’s.

Jude’s rushed breathing eventually leveled out, especially once his dream took over. He was living in the past for the next little while, even after the real world sought to wake him. Eventually a dull weight pushing into his chest woke him.

Lifting his head and fluttering his eyes, Jude found an asleep Gelo silently resting on his bruised chest. His breathing was in line with hers, a soothing, melodic rhythm of simple life. He was alive, Gelo was alive, were the others—

The answer was yes. Yes, of course. Jude turned his head to the side, finding Glenny beside him laying under the cover of a blanket next to a small fire. It was warm, Jude eventually noted, finding a blanket covering himself as well – not to mention the warmth of Gelo.

Leland was a tougher find but eventually Jude saw the young Warlock sitting across the way. The Legacy of Curses sat with his chin in hand, staring lazily at the crying form of the worm. The sight sent a pang of anxiety through Jude, waking Gelo.

“Jude! You’re awake!”

The commotion was heard by Leland despite the distance. Soon he was on his feet and walking over.

Trying to fend off a brutal assault of licks, Jude squeaked out a string of words, “What happened? Is Glenny okay? Why is the worm—”

“Cool it, man,” Leland said, sitting down and pulling the cub away. “Glenny is fine, albeit hurting a lot. Looks like he’s still asleep, so we should be quiet. The worm, well, you happened.”

Gelo took the pause to rush out an explanation. “You ran the worm into a lot of ice pillars! I thought you were going to sacrifice yourself! Don’t ever do that again!”

Jude smiled at that, especially when Gelo headbutted him. He looked back over to the worm, noticing the massive chunks of ice pinning its body. The magical mandible was laying bloodied a few dozen paces away from the other mandible.

“One of the chunks of ice tore off its mandible,” Leland said. “And plenty more crushed it into the ground. Gelo added her own ice to the mix, freezing solid to the ground. We were pretty lucky, I’ll say.”

“It's still alive,” Jude managed to say.

“Yeah,” Leland said, scratching his head. “I’ve been using Fracture and maintaining my crow summons, but I just don’t think I have the stopping power to fully kill it. Not for a while, at least. It will eventually bleed out. I was planning to try to take its soul, but I didn’t want to do that until you or Glenny were awake.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ve never taken a monster’s soul. I don’t know, just paranoid I guess. I don’t want it to suddenly gain a second wind and attack while I’m indisposed. Safer to wait.”

Jude nodded with that, pushing his strained muscles to sit up. It took a few minutes to get to his feet, but Leland’s ring of regeneration was sitting comfortably on his finger.

Better get healed up so I can give that back to Glenny, Jude thought nodding to Leland.

Taking the silent command, Leland stepped forward, magic, mana, and lifeforce bulging to life. Stepping into the curse’s maximum distance, he commanded, “Kneel before me!”

Purple fire bloomed.