Shadows Of Vengeance - Part 3

The ruins of Black Hollow had been more than just a battlefield; they were a warning. As Raelyn, Aric, and Verin pressed on through the crumbling corridors, a sense of unease settled over them like a heavy cloak. The air here was thick with old magic, the kind that left an imprint long after its master had gone. And somewhere in the darkness ahead, Vaelmar was waiting.

Raelyn ran her fingers over the cracked stone of a nearby wall, feeling the faded warmth of divine energy that had once been strong here. “This place was sacred once,” she murmured. “A sanctuary, perhaps.”

“Doesn’t look like it did a very good job staying that way,” Aric muttered, stepping over a broken pillar. His greatsword remained in his grip, ready for anything.

Verin adjusted the grip on his staff. “Something corrupted this place long before Vaelmar arrived. We need to be careful. Magic this old is unpredictable.”

They moved deeper into the ruins, the faint flicker of their torchlight casting eerie shadows against the walls. The further they walked, the more they noticed the strange markings scarring the stone. Some were runes—old ones, predating even the kingdom’s founding—while others were scratches, as if something had tried to claw its way out.

“Not exactly comforting,” Verin muttered.

Raelyn nodded, gripping her pendant. “Whatever happened here left scars on this place.”

Aric knelt by a pile of bones at the base of a shattered column. He picked one up, studying the deep grooves scored into its surface. “These weren’t just left behind. Something fed here.”

A chill ran through Raelyn’s spine. “We need to move faster.”

As if in response, a low growl echoed through the ruins, reverberating off the walls. The torch flickered violently, and Verin swore under his breath.

“I was hoping that was just the wind,” Aric muttered, shifting into a defensive stance.

From the shadows, movement. A figure slithered between the broken pillars, just out of reach of the fire’s glow. Then another. And another.

Verin stepped closer to the flame, his grip on his staff tightening. “They’re watching us.”

Raelyn took a step forward, raising her pendant. “Come into the light and face us.”

The growling stopped. Silence swallowed the ruins.

Then, the attack came.

The creatures moved as one, lunging from the darkness. Their twisted, skeletal forms were shrouded in mist, their eyes burning with an unnatural red glow. Ghouls. Dozens of them.

Aric met the charge head-on, his greatsword cutting through the first ghoul in a single, brutal stroke. Black ichor splattered the stones, but the fallen creature dissolved into mist before it even hit the ground.

Raelyn stepped beside him, raising her hands. Holy light surged from her pendant, creating a barrier that sent several ghouls recoiling with agonized screeches.

“Verin!” Aric called, slicing another ghoul in half.

The mage was already moving. His hands wove intricate sigils in the air, and in an instant, blue fire erupted from his staff, lancing through the pack of creatures. They shrieked and flailed as the flames consumed them, but more took their place, climbing over the crumbling ruins like spiders.

“We can’t hold this position,” Raelyn said, gritting her teeth as she slammed her shield into a ghoul’s snapping jaws. “We need to move!”

Aric nodded, carving a path through the undead. “Where?”

Verin’s eyes darted around the ruins before landing on a massive stone doorway ahead. “There. We can funnel them in and hold our ground.”

They sprinted toward the doorway, cutting down ghouls as they ran. Aric reached it first, slamming his shoulder against the heavy stone to push it open. It groaned in protest, but with Raelyn’s help, it finally gave way, revealing a massive chamber beyond.

The moment they were through, Verin slammed his staff against the ground, sending a shockwave of energy through the doorway. The stone trembled, then collapsed inward, sealing them inside.

Silence.

The three of them panted, catching their breath as the last echoes of the battle faded.

“That,” Aric said, wiping ichor from his sword, “was too damn close.”

Raelyn looked around. The chamber was massive, its vaulted ceiling barely visible in the dim light. Unlike the rest of the ruins, the walls here were covered in pristine carvings, untouched by time. In the center of the room, an altar stood, its surface inlaid with gold and glowing runes.

Verin stepped forward cautiously. “This wasn’t just a sanctuary. This was a place of power.”

Raelyn approached the altar, her fingers grazing the runes. “A holy site,” she whispered. “The light still lingers here.”

Aric glanced at the ruined doorway. “Which means Vaelmar might have been here, too.”

Before anyone could respond, the temperature in the chamber dropped. The golden light of the altar flickered, and a deep, resonant voice filled the room.

“You trespass where you do not belong.”

The air grew thick with an oppressive force, and from the darkness at the far end of the chamber, a figure emerged.

He was clad in black armor, his form towering and wreathed in an unnatural mist. His eyes burned with violet fire beneath his horned helmet. In his gauntleted hand, he gripped a massive greatsword, its blade etched with glowing crimson runes.

Vaelmar.

The dark paladin’s presence filled the room like a suffocating shadow. He took a slow step forward, the ground beneath him cracking from his sheer presence.

“You have chased ghosts,” he said, his voice cold as the grave. “Now you face the nightmare.”

Aric stepped forward, greatsword at the ready. “We’re not afraid of you.”

Vaelmar tilted his head slightly. “You should be.”

With a single movement, he raised his sword, and the runes flared to life. A wave of dark energy surged forward, slamming into them with the force of a hurricane. The impact sent Aric crashing into a pillar, while Raelyn barely managed to throw up a ward in time to shield herself and Verin.

Pain seared through Aric’s body as he struggled to stand. Vaelmar was powerful—far more than they had anticipated.

Raelyn braced herself, gripping her pendant. “We fight together.”

Verin nodded, his hands already moving to summon his magic. “Then let’s finish this.”

The final battle had begun.

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Links To All Parts of the Series

• Shadows of Vengeance Part 1
• Shadows of Vengeance Part 2
• Shadows of Vengeance Part 3
• Shadows of Vengeance Part 4