Fen's legs were tired.
It had been nearly two days since he had first found the man. The terrifying, impossible man.
Fen was not sure how much was a lie, but he was fairly certain that his companion was no man. Perhaps Thor had existed, but Fen doubted it was the man walking with Fen through the endless dinge.
It was possible he was wrong - and Fen dearly, dearly hoped he was. But it was unlikely - growing up, Fen had developed the uncanny ability to discern lies. The man was a very, very good lier. He slipped up occasionally, though. His emotions failed him, his eyes and voice telling far more than the man thought he was giving.
Therefore, Fen had concluded he was probably either currently allied with a pathological lier who more than likely was very acquainted with murder, or some kind of demonic being - most likely a rift creature. Fen heavily favoured the latter idea, these tunnels did not seem like somewhere any human could survive.
Granted, he had survived, but Fen suspected this was much more due to his demonic companion than his luck.
"Hey Thor, could we take a break soon? My legs are killing me".
"Sure, no problem, we haven't taken one yet today and by my guess we're nearing midday, we're certainly due one!"
It was quite awkward having to communicate in whispers, thought Fen, his face turning into a involuntary scowl. But, although he wasn't sure if Thor's claim of a blind creature was true - he had certainly been lieing, Fen just wasn't sure if it was about the creature or it being blind - he wasn't one to gamble with his life, so he obliged, albeit in annoyance with Thor's suggestion of near-silence.
Fen was inclined to agree. He had hardly slept last night, still wary of his unlikely ally, meaning his internal clock was probably still fairly accurate. Letting out a slight groan, fen plopped down onto the rocky floor and stretched.
His situation was… not great. Whatever he was travelling with at least seemed to want to keep him alive - which was somewhat imposing considering they were travelling towards what was apparently the exit. Unless the creature was simply a sadist, it needed Fen for something. The problem was, Fen had no real plan. The most he had come up with was to put on a act of slight idiocy and greed, hoping the creature would underestimate his capability's. Not that his capability's were especially high, but if he could beat it in nothing else, he might as well try in mind games.
Half an hour passed, and Fen was still struggling to come up with some semblance of a plan. He certainly would not be able to beat his companion in a fight, even if it did turn out to simply be a rather deranged human.
"We should probably get moving again"
Thor's quiet voice brought Fen back to reality.
"Yeah, I suppose so. If we walk for another eight hours or so today we should be able to cover the final distance tomorrow right?"
"I hope so"
The two men picked themselves up and begin to travel yet again. Their silence remained for several long, yet peaceful, hours, until it was very rudely broken by a sound of clicking.
'Ah, it was going a bit too well wasn't it. My sensors are picking up some definite bullshit coming my way'.
Fen was correct.
"Uh-oh. Fen, stay behind me, and hold onto this - if it comes to it, it's probably your best option as a weapon.
Looking at the rather mundane looking metal pole handed to him, Fen failed to disguise his disbelief.
"A pole? What the fuck am I meant to do with a pole?! - it's not even a really pointy pole or anything!" Also how the hell did this fit in your backpack, and why do you just have it there?
"A man from my party - his name was Elfrec - used to wield it. He's probably the strongest man I knew - a true master of his craft. He was one of the first of us to fall, so I had wielded it together with my sword against the foul creature we faced".
'I'm not surprised he was one of the first to fall frankly'
Fen was at least respectful enough to keep most of his annoyance to himself, even though he doubted the man crouching determinedly in front of him would actually care about disrespect being thrown towards the 'pole master'.
After all, it was seeming increasingly likely that he had participated in the battle not against the creature of shadows, but as it.
Moving forward, Fen caught a glimpse of the source of the sound.
A vast undead army flooded the tunnel in front of them, dark shadows playing on their bony, decrepit skulls.
"Oh dear".
The battle was fierce.
Not especially for Fen, but fierce nonetheless.
Thor had charged into the crowd of undead with - had Fen believed for a second that he was who he said he was - worrying level of enthusiasm. His sword had flashed from his scabbard, cleaving the heads of multiple undead off immediately.
"Oh thank god - they're cannon fodder"
Fen followed Thor's charge with a leisurely stroll, swinging his pole in what he hoped was a intimidating manner. A few undead moved in to meet him. Fen slammed the pole down aggressively on the first bag of bones, the remains scattering to the floor. The second attempted some kind of stupid charge, so Fen just kicked it, the bones crumbling instantly. The third undead, clearly needing a lesson in situational awareness, swung its bony hand forward in a rather pathetic punch. Fen simply sidestepped it, and yet again brought the pole crashing down on the flimsy bones.
'This is the kind of battle I can get behind'
Fen looked around, realised there was literally nobody else to fight and sat down. Every other undead had swarmed around Thor, who had beelined straight for their apparent leader, and engaged him in a fierce battle. Thor did not seem to be winning, hundreds of very weak skeletons were still hundreds - not to mention the leader who could probably take Fen's head off in a second. Nonetheless, Fen was not worried. The number of undead on the battlefield was quickly dimming, Thor's efforts not wasted, and once it came down to a one-on-one Fen was sure Thor would have no trouble.
'Or he could just die, that would kind of be appreciated?'
Fen much fancied his chances against the skeleton army in front of him than whatever creature he suspected dwelled within Thor's body.
'Thinking about it, aren't undead supposed to be able to constantly repair themselves?'
The smashed bones that resided on the tunnel floor, were very clearly, not repairing.
'Weak-ass army'
Looking up in response to a resounding crash, Fen noticed the skeleton army was very dwindling. The battle would almost certainly be over in a matter of minutes.
The remaining undead had managed to slam Thor to the ground however, a commendable group effort, thought Fen.
This did cause a major problem though. Instead of the undead leader taking advantage of this temporary boon, it instead began moving menacingly towards Fen, leaving it's minions to hold off Thor.
"You can't be serious"
Fen glanced at Thor. He was still surrounded, but gaps were beginning to form in the undead's wall around him. Fen grimaced, and brought his pole up in some kind of fighting stance - he had considered running, but if the skeleton had managed to keep up with Thor, it would certainly catch up to Fen almost instantly.
The undead's sword swung. Fen moved his pole up to meet it, and surprisingly, it held, deflecting the sharp rapier. Unfortunately, Fen had next to no combat experience, and was thrown of balance by the heavy strike.
Fen, ducking under the almost instantaneous follow up strike, leaped out of the devilish creatures range, still managing to keep hold of his pole. The undead was relentless, immediately appearing in front of Fen yet again, and raining down a flurry of strikes which Fen awkwardly managed to block - the creature was incredibly powerful and rapid, but it didn't seem to have any kind of technique.
Unfortunately, neither did Fen. Caught off guard by an especially swift attack, Fen was forced to allow the rusted blade to dig into his shoulder, blood instantly spurting from it.
"Shit!"
Fen quickly recovered, clutching his shoulder.
Another strike rained down.
Fen was going to have to give up a leg, he didn't have enough time to fully evade the furious strike.
Luckily, he didn't have to.
Thor, now having decimated the prior crowd surrounding him, barreled into the skeleton, slamming it into the tunnel wall, it's bones producing a sickly, audible cracking. The undead managed to force Thor away, but it was clearly injured.
The two titans clashed. The undead was putting up a a good fight, but it didn't have a hope. Thor's blows were calculated, powerful and targeted. The undead could only hope to clumsily defend, occasionally throwing out a jab that reached nothing but the air.
It had not even been ten seconds before their exchange was ended, Thor's blow cleaving the undead in half, its bones unceremoniously dropping to the floor.
The battle was over.