Another rumble started deep in the ground, causing them all to vibrate. Willa called out a warning as it grew worse. She saw the strut shifting on the broken fountain. She moved closer to Rosh and reached out to pull him back.
The trembling turned into a powerful release of energy, making it seem as though the ground came up and slammed into them. The rocks Dexter stood upon crumbled under him and he crashed to the ground, grimacing as his elbow and shoulder absorbed the brunt of the fall. Most of the crew fell as well, though Logan flexed his knees and rode it well. Rosh and Willa went down and Rosh looked up to see the strut shifting as the fountain began to give way. Willa lay directly in its path.
Rosh launched himself off the ground, grabbing her and rolling her out of the way. He threw her as they rolled, tossing her free of the threat. His hands went to the leading edge of the strut, which was grinding toward him at an alarming rate. He flexed his arms and pushed at it, driving himself away across the rocky ground.
“Help!” He growled, knowing that as strong as he was, there would be no way he could hold up the entire Voidhawk as it shifted off of the crumbling fountain. No man could.
Logan leapt from the side, falling over a score of feet to the ground. He rolled when he hit, limping for his two first running steps but then moving normally as though he was unbothered by the fall. Logan kicked one of the stones into Rosh’s side, making him glare at the priest. The strut, descending slowly thanks to the slowly disintegrating fountain it had rested upon, touched the edge of the piece of rubble and for a moment, and halted.
Rosh scrambled away from it, and only just in time before the small boulder cracked and broke apart. The strut descended the rest of the way, crunching into the ground and cracking along its length further than it already had.
Willa was at Rosh’s side, trying to help him to his feet. Dexter was up by then as well, surveying first his crew and then the state of the strut. Their sails were not mended and only a few minor repairs had been made. Flight was all but impossible, especially with the elemental foes above them.
He turned and saw a foul looking mist enveloping the ruins. It spread slowly, but stayed low and close to the ground. It seemed they were running out of options.
“Xander!” He snapped. “Do your thing!”
Xander came to his knees and shook his head. He saw the mist deeper in the ruins and gasped. Then he rose to his feet and swung his legs over the railing. At the last minute he grabbed the rope and slid down it, burning his hands in the process. Cursing, he ran away from the ship several dozen feet, then turned and looked at it. He paced backwards a few feet before he finally figured he was happy with his positioning.
The wizard shooed Dexter away with his hands when the man tried to approach. Dexter stood still and watched, wondering what the wizard had in mind. He was their only hope, he hated to admit.
Xander reached into a pocket and pulled out some grainy material. It was some form of crushed gemstone, Dexter knew, and probably very expensive. Xander showed no concern as he began to walk in a circle around the ship, letting a small amount of it fall to the ground behind him. He moved as quickly as he could, but still it was a painstakingly slow process. Dexter glanced up and saw the mist was spreading, overtaking the temple completely now and beginning to move beyond it.
The circle was finished finally, with the mist steadily, but slowly, advancing. Xander then began to use a dagger to dig runes in the hard packed ground, spacing them each a few feet apart. He looked up when he heard something, and gasped when he saw a handful of soldiers scrambling through the ruins and trying to escape.
Dexter saw them and felt a moment of relief. He had hoped they had not all perished. It seemed that death might still await them, for they disappeared a moment later to backtrack around the upheavals the earthquake caused. The mist advanced on them, causing another scream and a few curses.
“Captain, it’s ready… do not break the circle,” Xander said, hurrying to stand next to Dexter.
“What about them?” Dexter asked, pointing to the three men breaking free of the ruins. Aidan was in the lead, followed by one of his sergeants and a regular soldier.
The sergeant tripped on a rock and went down hard. Aidan skidded to a halt, but the sergeant told him to go on, he would be right behind him.
The sergeant limped a few steps on his twisted ankle, cursing and falling to the ground. He tried again, this time hopping a few steps then losing his balance. The mist was gaining.
“Don’t touch the symbol!” Xander cried out as Aidan and the soldier crossed over it. They narrowly avoided the dust and the symbols he had traced, then kept running forward until they stopped at the edge of the Voidhawk.
They looked back and saw the sergeant struggling to not be overtaken by the malevolent mist. “Stand up!” Xander cried out, terrified that the man would break his symbol of protection.
The man heard and struggled to his feet. The mist was only inches away from him by then. Tendrils of malignant fog extended to wrap around him in a sinuous fashion. He shuddered and lunged forward, throwing himself over the line on the ground. The mist slammed into it as though it was an invisible wall, unable to pass through. It spread, as though it was an intelligent beast searching for a way in. The sergeant staggered another step and then collapsed to crawl towards the safety of the ship.
Aidan and the soldier ran to the man, helping him to his feet and carrying him back to the ship, where Rosh, Dexter, Willa, and Logan now waited.
Rosh and Logan went up first then pulled Willa up. Dexter went next and waited on deck while Aidan and the other soldier fashioned a sling for the wounded sergeant. His broken ankle was only an inconvenience in comparison to his violent cough and shuddering muscles.
What’s gotten into him?” Jenna asked quietly as she stared down at the man’s contortions.
Before Dexter’s open mouth could reply the injured sergeant suddenly lunged, grabbing onto Aidan’s only remaining soldier. He pulled the man forward and bit down on his arm, tearing off a flap of skin and chewed on it. The soldier yelled in pain and tried to get free of the wounded sergeant, but he got tangled in the ropes around the man leaving him trapped and vulnerable.
Aidan tried to pull the man away but between the possessed sergeant’s grip and the ropes it was futile. A crack of thunder rang out and both Aidan and the wounded man jumped, their heads snapping in the direction of the deck. Smoke floated from the barrel of Dexter’s pistol and in unison, their gazes turned to the sergeant and the bloody hole in his forehead.
“Get up here,” Dexter said, “before we raise the ropes.”
Aidan nodded and told the wounded man to grab on. They both did and were hoisted aboard.
“What’s going on out there?” Rosh asked, trying to peer into the mist that had blanketed the entire ruins outside of Xander’s protective spell.
“I don’t-“
“Evil,” Bekka said, her whisper interrupting Dexter. “Pure, raw, chaotic evil.”
“You’ve seen this before?” Dexter asked, turning to face her.
Bekka’s sweaty, pale face nodded. She turned and pointed to Aidan’s only remaining soldier. He was clutching the bites on his arm in pain and only looked up when he sensed everyone was looking at him.
“I’m sorry,” Bekka said, her voice sounding miserable. No one doubted her sincerity, but they also had no idea what she was talking about.
“You have to go,” she said.
“Go? Go where?” He hissed, clutching his arm.
“Off the ship… out there. Away from us,” she said.
She turned to Dexter, “Captain… he’s been infected. He’s turning. Look at him, see the pain? The anger? Soon he’ll be one of them.”
“One of who?” Dexter asked, confused.
“A living ghoul, dead but not dead,” she said, turning back to him. He shook his head violently, denying what she said.