When the other party members arrived, Emile had already been put on the ground by the woman in black. That was enough to frighten Lond. How could a person be stronger than Emile?
Lond could hear the woman taunting Emile. He could pick out some things, phrases that he would worry about later once they rescued Emile. Instead, he had to worry about the man approaching them.
The red coated man was marching over to where they stood. He was unarmed as far as Lond could tell. He discovered just as Emile did the man had no features on his face except for a thin lipped mouth.
"Should we run?" Haley whispered. Lond worried she would leave them there, but he saw she already had an arrow ready. He raised his own arm towards the man approaching them, ready to fire off his own magic.
"Be careful," Cort replied. He had lowered his body into a defensive sword stance. "I'm pretty sure this guy is who Ashen was sensing earlier."
A large fire suddenly erupted from the floor near Emile. When Lond looked over again, he saw that the woman in black had vanished, and that Emile was trapped by some earth magic near a very hot flame.
"We have to get to him," Lond told the others. "He'll die if he stays there too long."
The man in the red coat was closer to them. He removed his hat and bowed to the three divers. Finally he spoke as he rose, his voice authoritative and deep.
"I am the master of this labyrinth," he said. "You may call me Lord Hamli. My mistress demands your destruction, but you are young and I am an honorable man."
"Then let us save our friend," Cort demanded.
"Honor is not mercy, child of the Empire," Hamli replied. He brought his hands near his mouth, and Lond watched a silver flute materialize out of nothingness. Then Hamli began to play it.
It was an unrecognizable melody, but a beautiful one to Lond nonetheless. The music was merely a tool, though. The very dust on the ground start to swirl in an unfelt wind.
The dust gathered, then it was no longer dust. It was the arm of a creature with brown fur and claws, then it was a torso, then another arm and two legs and finally a head.
Lond recognized it as a shadrat. Much like the elite feralise though, this particular monster looked different. Rather than landing on all fours, it balanced on its hind legs. Its claws and teeth were longer, and a black mane went from the top of its head down its spine.
"I do not know how long your friend has," Hamli said, banishing his flute back to the place it came from. "My mistress seems to want him to suffer slowly. If you defeat this beast, you may attempt to save him."
With that Hamli snapped his fingers and vanished in a wisp of smoke. There was no time for curiosity about his magic either. The elite shadrat hissed and charged the party.
Cort and Haley were the first to react. She fired an arrow that the creature deftly dodged and Cort followed up with a quick series of slashes. It halted the shadrat's charge as it avoided the attacks.
Lond saw an opportunity and launched his first fireball spell at the creature. It grazed the shoulder and got a small hiss from the rat as the magic singed its fur. Cort tried to take that chance to stab it.
The shadrat was ready. It grabbed Cort's wrist to stop him mid-thrust. With a jerk it flung Cort into the air. Lond had no chance to make sure he landed properly as the monster had turned to Lond next.
As it charged, Lond fired a trio of fireballs in quick succession. The shadrat dodged the first two, but the third hit it directly on the chest. It slowed it down just enough for Lond to move aside.
The shadrat continued charging forward into the empty space. It slammed its shoulder into the wall, then turned to face Lond again.
"Shadrats have a hard time turning when they get some speed," Haley told them. She fired an arrow at the monster, cursing to herself when it hit.
Lond realized what frustrated her quickly. Even with a direct hit, the arrow was only able to nick the thick hide before dropping to the ground. It did succeed in turning the beast's attention to Haley, though.
Good, Lin whispered in Lond's mind. She was delighted. We don't need the competition. Let it kill her, and we can have Cort to ourselves.
"Shut up," Lond replied out loud. It was an accident. The battle was not a place for Lin to interfere. No one seemed to notice, mainly due to the monster charging at Haley.
Before Lond could assist, Cort had leapt back into the fray. He slammed against the shadrat's side, eliciting grunts from both of them as he disrupted the monster's charge.
As Cort swung at the shadrat's legs with his sword, the monster retaliated by bringing a hand down towards Cort's back. There was no way for him to see the attack coming either. He would be hit.
Something filled Lond. A power and speed he was unaccustomed to. He had no control as his legs rushed him forward, nor when he leapt at the shadrat's back.
All of them, including Lond, were shocked to realize Lond had clung to the monster from behind. He was wrapping his arms around the limb the shadrat was attacking with. It stopped the blow from connecting with Cort and that's what mattered.
To Lond and Lin.
Did you forget I'm the one of us who can actually fight? Lin taunted him from within. Let me out. I'll end this in an instant.
Lond ignored her. He focused instead on keeping his grip on the monster's arm as Cort landed his blow. The blade was able to dig into the shadrat's thigh. Cort looked dismayed though, likely because he wanted to take the whole leg.
The shadrat roared out a beastly, bone chilling cry as it endured the pain of Cort's attack. It managed to yank free of Lond's grip. It grabbed the young mage with one long arm, and Lond yelped as it effortlessly threw him through the air.
Lond crashed into Haley, sending them both to the ground and sliding along the floor. There were mixed sounds of stumbling and pain as they rolled, but Lond was still able to see what happened next.
The shadrat had backhanded Cort. He did not fly as he did before, simply falling on his back with a grunt. Lond was busy untangling himself from Haley as he watched the shadrat yank the sword out of his thigh.
It approached the downed Cort. With a proud shout, it swiped with one of its claws. In one blow it had taken one of Cort's feet and sent it across the room.
Told you so, Lin whispered. She sounded like she was smirking, Lond knew it. I could save him.
"Stop talking and do it then," Lond hissed as he crawled on his hands and knees. His mind was solely focused on Cort. On the monster that was killing his friend.
He would tear the beast to shreds.
You're letting me out, then? Lin asked with a little giggle. Poor boy. You're so pathetic. Is this what falling in love has done to you?
"Would you shut the hell up and do something?" Lond told her.
"What do you want me to do?" Haley grumbled as she sat up. Lond didn't care. He just needed Lin to do something. The shadrat took another swipe at Cort. As he screamed out, the beast had gouged a chunk out of his friend's stomach.
When they switched, Lond just felt like he was going to sleep. He did not feel his body changing, morphing as it prepared to carry around Lin.
—
Haley saw the transformation though, too shocked to say or think anything about it. Something was happening to Lond's body underneath the cloak. When it was over, it hugged his body differently.
After the morphing finished, the figure that was Lond stood up. The cloak fell to the ground, revealing to Haley someone who was undeniably a young woman.
Her figure put her at about eighteen, the same age as Haley and Cort. Her face wasn't visible, but her red hair flowed freely down her back. Then she spoke, and Haley was broken out of her trance.
"Hey waitress," the girl told her. "Give me that sword you have. You're not using it."
Haley, too confused by it all, quickly unfastened the rapier from her belt. She scrambled over to give this person the sword, no choice but to rely on her.
She drew the blade from the scabbard. Haley thought she could see a smirk in the faint reflection off the rapier's thin blade.
"Good girl," she whispered, though Haley was unsure if the girl was speaking to her or the sword. "Let's go save your boyfriend, Lond."