Risen Chapter 33: Defender

Through the eyes of my crow-self, I could see that the battle was not going well. With their numbers vastly diminished, the Spectral Guardsmen were caught flat-footed, unable to properly react to the surprise attack amidst the chaos that had engulfed the city.

The sheer strength of some of their enemies certainly didn’t help, either. Here and there, broken and battered guardsmen littered the ground, groaning in pain. A few of the Gray Woman’s men had joined them, taken out by some strange effect created by the bizarre rods that the guardsmen tended to carry at their sides - yet those same rods had been quickly stolen from the downed guardsmen, turned against those who still remained.

The doors that led out into the main courtyard were barricaded, the remaining guardsmen attempting to buy time for others to arrive and assist. Yet, looking out across the smoke-covered city, I knew that there was little chance of that any time soon.

The HQ was under attack, true - then again, the entirety of the city was under some manner of attacks. Endangered by the flames that had sparked in every district, ruining lives and livelihoods. With the city’s inhabitants - the poorer ones, at least - already harboring a justifiable degree of discontent, the chaos of today might very well be the spark that set off the powder keg that the city had become.

It was a disconcerting thought. I turned a corner, retracing the initial steps that I had taken through the maze-like hallways. Behind me, a tidal wave of Risen followed, those that were bound to the ground and unable to simply fly above the walls of the HQ. I quickly outpaced them, leaving the undead creatures behind. They would catch up, eventually.

Another booming crash reverberated across the courtyard, the result of a makeshift ram, one of the criminal’s Risen of all things, smashing into the barricaded door. The bone portal trembled, its hinges straining to hold, as the Risen crashed against it, shattering the core that kept it animated - only to be revived again a moment later, renewed once more.

It was a strange method, sacrificing its life so easily, but it was a rather effective one. Each time it clattered against the blockage, its bones rattled and fractured. Yet, at the same time, the obstruction did as well.

All the while, the Gray Woman and her men waited at a distance, far away from any potential danger that might lay in wait directly behind the soon-to-be-opened door.

When a creature’s life became meaningless, it was easy to throw it away. Even when that very life is sustained by small portions of your own. I hadn’t forgotten the desperation of Alexander, nor of the wounded man in the High Market.

Whether it seemed like it or not, they were fighting for their lives too. Just in a different way than most.

It almost made me worry about the idea of capturing them. Was I dooming them to an ignoble death by doing so? Alexander had seemed certain that he would die without another dose of the Gray Woman’s power, at least.

Yet, in the end, it was them or everyone else.

The Gray Woman couldn’t be allowed to grow in power. She couldn’t be allowed to spread her operations, to slowly bring the city under her grip through the threat of withdrawal-induced death.

Just before the door came down, beginning to fracture into tiny little splinters of bone, I reached the defending guardsmen. Three were pressed up against an amalgamation of various pieces of furniture and debris, arrayed in a line to help the door hold firm. The last two, unable to assist in the space that remained, stood watch. The group started at the sound of my approach, the two at the back turning and brandishing the bizarre-looking rods that so many of them seemed to wield.

“Who are you?” one asked guardedly, keeping his arms raised in a defensive posture. It was little wonder, really. Masks did little to make someone appear trustworthy. That, topped with the fact that they had likely already seen the Gray Woman’s own mask, may have made me seem more suspicious than I might have hoped.

“Carrion,” I replied. “I came to help.”

The proclamation did little to alleviate their wariness. Cursing inwardly, I admonished myself. It was the only name they would have recognized, hopefully connecting me to a Corrupted vigilante at the worst, but...I probably shouldn’t have used the name that the guardsmen had given to me for their internal reports. Now it looked like I had spied on them.

Which, I had, but them knowing that did little to engender trust towards me.

I raised my hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Look, I’m just here to help, like I said. I had a run-in with the Gray Woman yesterday - the one with the mask who’s leading this group. She’s dangerous, and I know why she’s here.”

I needed them to trust me for a number of reasons. The first was that it would make my efforts in the present much easier. The second was that I was tired of always finding myself on the wrong side of the law. Even if we didn’t work together closely, I wanted to at least have a relationship with the Spectral Guard that wasn’t so guarded and difficult.

The guardsmen narrowed his eyes. “Why’s she here, then?” Behind him, the door cracked further, causing the two men that were braced against it to strain and grunt as it nearly blew inwards.

“Earlier today, you had a shopkeeper from the Low Market come in. He brought with him some sort of Stone, created by a Corrupted named the Stonemaker.” I raised my hand as he opened his mouth, cutting him off. “I’m not spying on you. I was the one that told him to come here. I thought that would be enough. Clearly, I was underestimating its importance, though. I didn’t think she would set fire to the city to draw most of you away. I apologize for that.”

That earned me a noncommittal grunt. Not quite acceptance, but it was better than nothing. He turned back towards the trembling door as another blow smashed against it, then back to me before shrugging. “I’ll take you at your word, I suppose. Either way, we’re not looking so good right now. So, what can you do?”

I cocked my head, listening to the growing buzzing that filtered towards my ears from the hallways behind us. “I’d rather not say. Let’s just call it...enough. Hopefully.”

“Enough? The hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you all should back away from the door now. There’s no reason to risk yourselves here. Especially since none of you seem to have your Risen at hand.”

Once again, the guardsman looked at me with suspicion.

“Seriously. It would be better if I didn’t have to worry about you all. It’s...going to get a bit hard to breathe in here in a moment.”

“Huh?” the guard replied. Just as the words left his mouth, they arrived. A horde of crawling, skittering Risen, each of them tumbling and toppling over the others. Each of them ready to rip and tear, to chew and to punish.

The guardsman paled, stepping back.

I turned to the side, presenting a path past me with a wave of my hand. The gathered Risen did the same, clambering atop one another in a wave, lining the wall on one side of the hallway. The edge of the black tide disappeared as it veered around a corner, the sheer number of the gathered Risen enough to travel far along the hallways of the headquarters.

“Like I said, I’m here to help. I hope you can believe that.”

The man slowly nodded, as if in a dazed stupor. The other guard, silent all this time, finally spoke.

“Patrick, Devon,” she barked. “We’re pulling back.”

The two men turned at her voice, starting a little at the sight of myself and my gathered horde. I waved. One of them waved back, though it was rather hesitant.

They waited for a moment, unsure what to do. Behind them, the door vibrated and cracked, more and more fissures forming upon its surface. The hinges squealed, straining under the force being applied to them from outside.

I understood their concern. As soon as they moved away from the door, it would come flying open. The various furniture piled in front of it wasn’t enough on its own. The heavy weight of their armor-clad bodies pressing against the barricade had provided much of the resistance.

So, exploiting the clear view outside given by my crow-self, I gave them a reprieve. Flying insects and birds blackened the sky above the Spectral Guard HQ, just another shade of billowing blackness that had enveloped the city

And then it came down.

The wave of Risen fell upon the gathered Gray Men, doing its best to smash against mouths and noses, to cover eyes and ears. I urged them to buzz, creating a deafening drone that drowned out all other noise for those within the giant swarm. It was a delicate process; without being nearby to direct the swarm with precision, someone could very easily end up suffocating to death.

Because of that, the criminals were nowhere near subdued - only momentarily halted by my efforts.

Still, it gave the guardsmen the reprieve that they needed to retreat. I gestured towards them. “Now’s your chance, while they’re distracted.”

They glanced at me with a degree of incredulity, but I knew that the buzzing that filtered in from outside was unmistakable - as was the barricade ceasing its groaning protests.

Finally, they acquiesced, beginning their retreat. I suppose that they figured there was no sense in protesting further.

Just before the last passed me, I held out a hand to stop him. With a quick point towards the rod at his side, I asked a question that had been burning away at me.

“Devon,” I intoned. It was important to use people’s names to create a sense of trust, I had always heard. “Before you leave: what exactly is that thing?”

Still caught off-guard by the whirlwind of recent events, he took a moment to respond. “Standard-issue gear ordered from Incantarin’s Marked. They give off a bit of a shock when hitting anything with enough force. Doesn’t have all that much charge left, though.”

I felt my face shift into a smile as my gathered horde buzzed and clumped behind me.

“Can I have it?”

He didn’t say no.