Lalauri Imafenduwell

The Old Aureate Wing

Imafenduwell Hall

 

Lalauri ran as fast as she could—with Keridwen right behind her—to get to the source of the pandemonium that echoed towards them. The source of the noise no longer originated from Junction Point, but it once did. The trail of destruction that originated from that region of the Hall made its way closer and closer to the front of the Old Aureate Wing. When the two of them finally arrived at where the fighting was currently taking place, they were in the main living room of the wing.

Grannie, Cecil, and the other adult nulliwumps were all armed with various weapons. The group’s bodies were covered in scrapes and bruises—both old and new—as they surrounded the latest assailant who had broken into Lalauri’s home. Lalauri’s eyes widened as she took in the man before her. He was suited in a set of giant, mechanical, dwarven-made battle armour that towered over them all. No doubt it was amongst the treasure trove of Dwarf artifacts amongst her long since forgotten possessions.

Inside the stolen armour’s torso, the man wearing a devil mask had hidden various schematics, blueprints, and even a book or two, some of which were sticking out around his head. In one of his large metal hands he held the mostly ruined remains of the dwarf brasshulk that had gone rogue on them earlier, in his other was a long metal pole he was using to swat at Grannie and the others, and strapped to the suits back using chains was a giant chest filled with who knew what.

“Careful, Lalauri!” Grannie called over. “This one’s a lot faster than he looks, and those Hounds aren’t responding to—”

And as Grannie said that, the suit whipped around before Lalauri could properly process it, and swung down at her with the metal poll the wearer was wielding. It was only by the grace of the Faun that she could somehow dodge it in time, and that Keridwen could throw herself out of harm’s way for the moment. As Lalauri sat herself upright after landing hard on the floor, she saw the weapon had been properly lodged in the hardwood floor where she had once been standing.

The man in the suit cursed loudly. “Just get out of my way, you stupid elves!” bellowed the gangster in the suit, as he tried wrenching the metal poll out of the floor. “You and the fur-balls, just shove off! Shove off and let me through! I’m leaving this place with this dwarf stuff, and there isn’t anything you can do about it! You’re just wasting my time!”

Lalauri steeled herself for the impending battle, taking a deep breath to focus her mind. As the man swung his weapon at her once more, Lalauri sprang onto the armour’s mechanical arm with ease. Racing up the man’s arm, she swung at his face with all her might, knocking out a tooth and sending him stumbling backwards. With a loud crash, he slammed into the wall, scattering furniture in every direction.

“Cecil!” said Lalauri. “Take Keri away from here! Take her to my study and grab me my sword!”

With only a nod, Cecil made to run out of the living room area.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” said the long imp, spitting out blood. He pushed up against the wall that the suit was lodged in, launched himself forward, and made to tackle Cecil.

At the last minute, Grannie stepped in between both Cecil and the battle-armour and went to swing her hammer at it. Her plan only half worked.

Obviously expecting further resistance to his escape, the imp had activated some runes on the armour, and they hummed and glowed with arcane, blue light. With Grannie swinging her hammer, he clenched his fist to prepare for their clash. Cecil and Grannie’s weapons met the fist with a loud CLANG, but the momentum of the charging armour was too great. The force of the impact sent them both reeling backwards. The imp collided with the other two, and the smell of dust and debris filled the air as they crashed through the walls.

“Keridwen!” Lalauri said, whipping around to face her. “Go find Thumper, make sure he’s ok, and then go to my study! Now! This is no place for you. Go now, I have to go after them!”

“Ok,” said Keridwen. And the little girl ran off to do as she was told.

When she was gone, Lalauri followed the wreckage—through the massive holes in the walls thorough different rooms—until she caught up with the fight in a large cobweb-filled ballroom. Lalauri hadn’t even been to this part of the Old Aureate Wing in a long time. It was once a grand room with ornate decorations where bands would play their music, war tales were traded, and the dancing was legendary. Now it was being quickly reduced to a mess of dust and rubble thanks to the fighting that had turned it into the newest battle-scene.

Racing against time, Lalauri quickly grabbed an ornate chair from an untouched section of the wall and threw it through the air. The armoured thug stumbled forward as the chair collided with his back, sparing a clearly injured Cecil and an unconscious Grannie from certain death.

The masked man turned to look at her and said, “Can’t wait your turn, huh? Y’know, when I’m done with you lot, the Boss is gonna reward me. Not just mere copper coins either—proper gold cogs, it’ll be! But I’m starting to wonder…why let the stupid wolf keep all this knowledge for himself? All this power…what’s he and the House need it for, anyway?”

“Stupid wolf?” Lalauri wondered.

Then the battle-armour did something; at some silent command its wearer had given it, the suit’s runes glowed brighter again. Lalauri suspected something was amiss, but her heart skipped a beat when the Hounds appeared next to her, growling and snarling, each with a strange golden collar around their necks.

“RELEASE US!” The Hounds all thundered at once.

The imp chuckled. “In case you were wondering why your ghost dogs weren’t coming to your rescue this time…it’s because I’ve got them all right here. I don’t know why the Boss’s weapons didn’t work on them, but it doesn’t matter now. It seemed the Dwarfs knew something or two about how to get a dog made of stars to heel. And now…they serve me.”

With barely a flick of his finger, the imp commanded the Hounds to charge at her—hurdling towards Lalauri like the living comets they were, and scorching the air and hardwood floor beneath them as they shot towards her. They were fast—too fast.

Lalauri was unprepared when Razzalar, snarling with fury, crashed into her and lifted her off her feet. He carried her back through the holes in the walls with such force that the impact left her stunned and unable to catch her breath. She had been slammed and lodged into the same wall that the armoured imp was previously stuck in.

“Can’t…control!” Sputtered Razzalar, fighting himself as his golden collar compelled him to gnash his teeth at her. Lalauri only barely shoved him off and evaded his attempts at biting her face off when the other Hounds joined in on the dog pile. “Can’t fight!” Razzalar went on. “Destroy…the suit, elf!”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?!” Lalauri wheezed back at him, coughing up the cloud of dust created by the impact of them hitting the wall.

“Lalauri!” Keridwen had just come around the corner with her arms clasped around a sheathed Anthem. The little girl froze when all eyes turned on her. “I uh…I brought your sword.”

“Keridwen!” Cecil came out from the hole in the other wall and grabbed hold of the girl, trying to hoist her up in his arms, despite the fact that she was taller than him. “Why can’t you just stay—” It was Cecil’s turn to realize that all eyes were on him. “Oh…aha…look Keri, it’s your Hounds—WHOA! AHHHH!” The old nulliwump ran as fast as he could with Keridwen over his shoulder as some of the Hounds of Twilight tore after them. As the two ran off, the sheathed Anthem bounced out of Keridwen’s hands, and the empyrean-steel blade tumbled and landed on the floor, ignored by the Hounds completely.

“NO!” Lalauri said, elbowing Razzalar in the jar. “Get a hold of yourself! Get a hold of your pack, you damned mutt!”

Then something else caught Lalauri’s eye; the lone imp was making his escape. Lalauri—struggling to look past Razzalar’s body—saw that the masked man was re-strapping the chest of items he was stealing back on to the back of the battle armour and was making for the front doors to escape at last.

“No! That’s not happening!” Lalauri declared.

Lalauri’s elbow connected with the celestial dog’s jaw in a powerful blow, allowing her to escape its grasp. She rushed towards the front door, grabbing the Anthem from the floor in one swift motion. Unsheathing Anthem, Lalauri stood up and tapped it hard on the floor, creating a melodic tune that filled the front hallway as she blocked the gangster’s path.

“Move.” said the imp, looming over her.

“Why do this?” Lalauri demanded. “Why attack my home? Who put you up to this?”

“I don’t think that’s what you want to be focusing on right now.” The man gestured to somewhere behind him, and Lalauri’s stomach dropped when she saw what it was.

Somehow, she had not heard Keridwen’s or Cecil’s screams until just then. Both of them were being pinned in a small broom closet further down the hallway. The Hounds were tearing apart the door to the closet with terrible ferocity. And because Lalauri held the sword that Keridwen brought for her and dropped, the little girl and the nulliwump had no means of defending themselves. Then the masked imp turned to Razzalar and the other Hound that had walked up behind him from the living room. The two howled in agony as the imp used the armour’s magical runes to hurl them toward their fellow attackers, who were already closing in on Cecil and Keridwen.

“Stop this!” Lalauri shouted. “I swear, if you hurt either of them—!”

“You’re not in a position to be making threats!” the imp bellowed. “So what’s it going to be, elf? You gonna stop the dogs over there, or…would you rather stop me from stealing your secrets?”

Damn him! Lalauri thought to herself.

“Lalauri!” Keridwen screamed, as the Hounds finally started breaking down the door.

Lalauri wasted no time. She ran past the imp, ignoring the masked thug’s laughter as he escaped out the front doors and into the night. Her only focus was on saving the others.

As soon as she had the chance, Lalauri struck the nearest Hound with the Anthem. The empyrean-steel blade deeply cut the Hound’s body, and a radiant starlight shone from the wound. As the Hounds thankfully turned their attention onto her rather than the others, Lalauri got to work slashing away as the Anthem sang out its tune. Lalauri joined in on the blade’s song by singing a wordless tune of her own.

Then a breakthrough occurred: as she was swiping at the Hounds, one of her strikes connected directly with one of the Hounds’ golden collars, and it cracked upon contact with the empyrean-steel.

Suddenly, she had a game-plan. Then Lalauri sang for real.

“In the depths of twilight’s waning light,

I charge into the fray, ready to fight.

Celestial hounds with collars of gold,

Threaten my home, fierce and bold.

With empyrean-steel, my blade shines bright,

I’ll shatter their collars, release them from their spite.

For this little girl that I’ll learn to hold dear…

I’ll battle these hounds, and cast away her fear!”

The tune of the blade was so overwhelming that the Hounds, despite their internal struggle, could not resist the enchantments put upon them. The enchantment that created the golden collars had a powerful effect on the Hounds, making them fiercely protective of the shining objects. But Lalauri was relentless. She was determined to set these beings free.

“With each swing of my Anthem, their ranks divide,

Their snarls and growls won’t break my stride.

Through the chaos, I stand tall and true,

No force, but from the heavens, could stop what we’ll do.

With empyrean-steel, my blade shines bright,

I’ll shatter their collars, release them from their spite.

For this little girl that I’ll learn to hold dear…

I’ll battle these hounds, and cast away her fear!”

Lalauri glimpsed Cecil rushing to help Keridwen out of the closet while the beasts were distracted. They were both covered in their fair share of scrapes and bruises. Both were now looking at Lalauri with concern in their eyes, clearly trying to figure out how they could help—if at all.

“In dear old Cecil’s eyes, wisdom lies…

In this little girl’s laughter, hope defies.

I’ll guard her dreams, and shield them both from despair…

Over this twilight battle, ‘VICTORY’ will I declare!

Oh, celestial hounds, feel the strike of my might!

Your golden collars will crumble in my sight!

No enchantment can hold back the Lord’s will,

For my promise to Him, I shall fulfil!

With empyrean-steel, my blade shines bright,

I’ll shatter their collars, release them from their spite.

For this little girl that I’ll learn to hold dear…

I’ll battle these hounds, and cast away her fear!”

Lalauri witnessed the Hounds breaking free from their collars and evaporating into stardust, leaving her to ponder their uncertain fate. The other Hounds fell one by one, but Razzalar remained standing.

Razzalar let out of low growl and positioned himself as if ready to pounce, and Lalauri readied herself for one last fight, questioning if the Hound she had reluctantly come to know was even still in there. That was when Razzalar said something that betrayed his defiant stance.

“Finish this, Lalauri.” Razzalar said.

With that, he charged at her.

Lalauri hopped up into the air just as Razzalar soared through the air at her like a comet. As she flipped around in the air, she brought the Anthem out for the last time and swiped with it at the final golden collar just as Razzalar passed underneath her. With the magic collar shattered, the last Hound of Twilight let out a howl of joy. Like the rest of his pack, he dissolved into stardust, finally freed from the intruder’s spell.

Lalauri landed on her feet with the ease of a seasoned warrior. She took a deep breath and felt her heart sink as she surveyed the destruction that had been wrought upon her home. But then as she watched Cecil and Keridwen embrace each other, their elation contagious after the hard-fought win they all shared. The sight of them being so jubilant brought a smile to Lalauri’s face as well.

“As the final Hound falls beneath my blade,

Peace descends, darkness fades…

The nulliwump and the girl, safe in my stead,

‘This battle’s won’, and the enemy has fled...

With empyrean-steel, our victory rings clear,

In my heart, Little One, I must now hold you near.

For this little girl…that I’ll learn to hold dear…

I will conquer the night and banish all fear.”

Keridwen raced to Lalauri and collided into her, giving her as mighty of a bear hug as an eight-year-old could muster.

“Are you alright, Lalauri?” the little girl asked, her voice cracking with concern.

“Yes, Little One.” Lalauri smiled and returned the hug. “I’ll be alright.”