Captain Baxtor heard yells echoing through their underground complex, “The Zith are coming, the Zith are coming.” He quickly began packing up his materials.

Frank Ward sprinted into the room and began helping him.

“What do you think, Frank,” asked the Captain. “Will Henry and Adam’s gambit pay off?”

“Let’s focus on getting out of here. We can worry about that later,” replied the second captain.

A large cage, holding a red-skinned, 14-foot giant came into view. At its high speed, Radiance had to circle the cage twice as the skiff slowed down. The giant captive coughed up prodigious quantities of water now that he was in an air bubble and immediately began struggling against the chains that bound him.

Radiance summoned earth sprites within the links on the god’s chains, which broke them open as the sprites materialized. The other elementalists joined him in working to free the god.

“Keep your water sprites on the lookout,” Radiance ordered. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

“One of my sprites just caught a Zith sprite,” said the scrawny apprentice Hudson. “They know something is happening here.”

“Lord Alsos,” said one of the Salrich elementalists. “We’re here to rescue you, please join us on our humble vessel, and let us take you to safety.” The elementalist moved towards the god.

With a roar, the god ripped apart the weakened chains binding him. Radiance and the others were showered in bits of shrapnel from the broken chains. A large chunk of metal hit apprentice Hudson, who started to fall out of the skiff before Radiance grabbed the thin apprentice and pulled him back to safety.

Alsos grabbed the elementalist who had talked to him, and threw her violently against the wall of the air bubble. Hitting it at high speed, the group of elementalists heard a sickening crunch and saw her body crumple before she disappeared into the water.

Grabbing hold of the chain that held up the fragmenting cage, Alsos began pulling himself up it, leaving the air bubble as he climbed upwards into the sea. The remnants of the cage broke off of the chain and fell through the floor of the air bubble into the water below them.

“I thought he was going to come with us after we rescued him,” asked Adam Hudson. Looking at where the elementalist had died he said, “Why did Alsos do that to her?”

“Gods aren’t like you or me,” explained Radiance. “We’re lucky that he didn’t kill the rest of us in his rage.”

“Alsos is the incarnation of love,” said one of the remaining Salrich elementalists. “He is everything good, and kind, and decent.”

“I saw,” said Radiance. “I’ve fended off three Zith water sprites already, we need to get out of here now.”

* * *

William Nickerson looked out across the water from the high vantage point he’d been stationed at with a group of Salrich scouts. Rather than watching the port that they’d been assigned to monitor, he was watching the two armadas clashing in the water. He’d been keeping a close watch with his farscope then lowered it with a sigh.

“How goes the battle,” asked one of the Salrich scouts, hopefully.

“The Pantheon fleet is defeated,” said the Phoenix’s’ quartermaster. “They’re in retreat.”

* * *

Alsos pulled hard on the chain, hand over hand, as he shot upwards from the depths towards the command ship above. Onboard, the crew looked uncertainly at one another as the ship jerked from the movements below.

Getting frustrated at his slow ascent, the god abandoned the chain and began swimming upwards with mighty strokes, gaining speed as he rushed towards the surface.

Reaching the ship, he slammed into the hull like a cannonball, rocking the ship, and breaking some of the planks. Reaching into the fractured hull, the god pried open the crack further. Water began rushing into the ship. Pulling it open wider still, the god entered with the torrent of water.

* * *

“Another water sprite down,” reported Adam Hudson as the elementalists’ skiff shot along underneath the water. “They’re trying their best to take us down.”

“Less talking and more defense,” ordered Radiance. “I’m going to surface, in case they capsize our skiff, we can swim to shore instead of drowning.”

* * *

From the rocky outcrop on the cliff, Frank Ward looked over the edge through a farscope. Climbing back down along the cliff, he joined all the people who had previously been in the underground complex and, along with Captain Baxtor and Henry Cook, had left through the exit in the rear, leading to the ledge running along the cliff-face.

“It looks like all of them who are going to go into the complex have,” reported the second captain. “Most of the demi-gods remained outside. Two went into the complex with most of the Zith raiders.”

“I guess that’s as many fish as we’re likely to catch,” said Joseph Baxtor. “Fire at will, Mr. Cook.”

Henry Cook took hold of the taunt cord next to him and gave it a quick pull. Nothing happened and the men looked at one another expectantly, then a loud groan could be heard and dust flew out the entrance of the complex they had exited from and into the air above the complex.

“Seems like your plan to collapse it worked, Mr. Cook,” said Joseph Baxtor.

“Yes, sir,” agreed the ship’s engineer.

“I don’t think I’d like to work long-term in a facility that can collapse that easily,” the captain said.

“No, sir,” agreed the engineer.

“Let’s get these people moving before the remaining Zith think to look around back here,” ordered Baxtor.

* * *

Standing on the sinking ship, Alsos gave a guttural roar to the heavens and surveyed the waters around him and the approaching ships. Blood dripped off of his hands, from the many Zith deckhands and raiders he’d caught on the command ship. Most of the blood was red, but some was purple gods’ blood from Nalvol’s children.

With a cry and a mighty leap from the sinking ship, he launched himself into the air, flew hundreds of feet, and smashed down on the deck of one of the nearby ships, smashing through the deck and onto a lower level of the ship.

The deckhands looked at the arrived god in horror as he began ripping the new ship and crew apart.

* * *

Clotted blood caked Albert Reeves’ body as he hung, beaten, on a crucifix in the citadel throne room. A wavering, ethereal figure flickered in and out of existence by the throne, surrounded by a dozen Zith priests.

The commander who had tortured the third captain examined his handiwork. “The priests tell me that this batch of sacrifices should establish Nalvol’s echo here. I lost my fight to keep you, my plaything. As you burn I want you to be grateful that it’s gentle compared to what I would have done with you.”

Albert Reeves hung silently, enduring the torment. Kindling doused in oil had been placed underneath him.

A priest began chanting and lighting the fuel underneath the sacrifices. Screams began from the other victims as they burned.

The priest arrived at Albert Reeves, chanted over the beaten man, and started the fire underneath him.

“I never even got to carve out your eyes,” said the commander mournfully. “Plucking out the first one is best, since I could have let you look at it with the other one.”

Alberta Reeves felt new pain lance through his body as the flames began burning his legs. He started screaming, igniting pain in his raw throat.

Suddenly, one of the windows in the throne room shattered open, stone flying as the enormous figure of Alsos broke through the wall. The echo of Nalvol finished its materialization, saw the arrived god, and moved towards him with a snarl, knocking his own priests through the air to clear the path.

A crash sounded as the enormous figures collided and began raining blows down on one another. The howling sacrificial victims’ cries echoed through the throne room. The commander began cheering on Nalvol’s incarnation as the gods battled.

Getting the upper hand, Alsos wrestled Nalvol’s echo into a headlock. Pulling with all his strength, the Salrich god pulled the head off of the Zith god’s echo, detaching it from his body and pulling it loose along with a section of spine. Purple god blood sprayed from the figures and pooled underneath them in the throne room.

The commander and remaining priest ran to exit the throne room, ignored by Alsos.

Whether driven by mercy or irritation at their screams, Alsos gestured and the flames burning the victims winked out. Albert Reeves whimpered as he hung with charred legs and watched the Salrich god reclaim his throne.

* * *

With the return of Alsos’ aura, an uprising began throughout the Salrich culture as the downbeat populace rose up to overthrow their oppressors.

Zith throughout the Salrich lands suddenly found themselves under attack from the previously docile sheep.

* * *

Standing on the deck, the Phoenix crew prepared to cast off. The Salrich liaison stood talking to Joseph Baxtor, Albert Reeves, and Sinclair Foran. Norah Foran with a large smile on her ruddy, healthy face stood quietly next to her father taking in all the sights of the dock area.

“You and your crew’s heroics will never be forgotten, Captain Baxtor,” said the village elder who was seeing them off. “Know that you’ll be welcomed as living legends any time you return to us.”

“We appreciate that, and we’re grateful for Alsos’ healing wave,” said Joseph Baxtor. “When it cured your people of the flesh rot, it also healed my injured third captain and our healer’s daughter.”

“In truth, some of us are glad that we were able to free ourselves, rather than be protected by the Pantheon armada. Any future invaders will think twice before assuming the Salrich are easy pickings.”

“They certainly will,” agreed Joseph Baxtor.